pass the hat (around)
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Related to passes the hat: pass the hat around
pass the hat (around)
To collect financial donations from people. We make very little off our CDs, so please pass the hat if you can! Everyone passed the hat around to help the Jeffersons pay for the cost of their son's treatment.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
pass the hat (around) (to someone)
Fig. to collect donations of money from people. (Could also be literal.) Jerry passed the hat around to all the other workers. He passed around the hat to everyone. I'll pass the hat around.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
pass the hat
Ask for financial contributions, as in Let's pass the hat so we can get her a nice going-away gift. This expression alludes to the actual practice of passing a hat around a gathering, but it is also used more figuratively, as in The board decided to pass the hat again among the corporate sponsors. [Late 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
pass the hat
orpass the hat around
If people pass the hat or pass the hat around, they collect money for someone or something. The United States is also passing the hat among rich countries to help to pay for our military effort. We should all pass the hat around for poor old Bernie and his charming wife. Note: The image here is of people using a hat to collect money in.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
pass the hat
To take up a collection of money.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.