English · Idiom Historical

to gain the cap

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To obtain a bow from another out of respect. Such gams the cap of him that makes them fine, But keeps his book uncrossed.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Nhận được sự kính trọng từ người khác

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

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.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “to gain the cap” mean?

To obtain a bow from another out of respect. Such gams the cap of him that makes them fine, But keeps his book uncrossed.

Is “to gain the cap” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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