to cock your hat
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To set your hat more on one side of the head than on the other; to look knowing and pert.
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 “to cock your hat” mean?
To set your hat more on one side of the head than on the other; to look knowing and pert.
Is “to cock your hat” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.