the button of the cap
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The tip-top. Thus, in Hamlet, Guildenstern says: "On fortune's cap we are not the very button" (ii, 2), i.e. the most highly favoured. The button on the cap was a mark of honour.
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 “the button of the cap” mean?
The tip-top. Thus, in Hamlet, Guildenstern says: "On fortune's cap we are not the very button" (ii, 2), i.e. the most highly favoured. The button on the cap was a mark of honour.
Is “the button of the cap” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.