cap in hand
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Submissively. To wait on a man cap in hand is to wait on him like a servant, ready to do his bidding.
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 “cap in hand” mean?
Submissively. To wait on a man cap in hand is to wait on him like a servant, ready to do his bidding.
Is “cap in hand” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.