a feather in your cap
Preserved but no longer current.
An honour to you. The allusion is to the very general custom in Asia and among the American Indians of adding a feather to the headgear for every enemy slain. The ancient Lycians, and many others had a similar custom, and it is still usual for the sportsman who kills the first woodcock to pluck out a feather and stick it in his cap.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a feather in your cap” mean?
An honour to you. The allusion is to the very general custom in Asia and among the American Indians of adding a feather to the headgear for every enemy slain. The ancient Lycians, and many others had a similar custom, and it is still usual for the sportsman who kills the first woodcock to pluck out a feather and stick it in his cap.
Is “a feather in your cap” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.