to send the cap round
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To make a collec- tion. This is from the custom of street musicians, acrobats, etc^of sending a cap round among the onlookers to collect their pennies.
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 send the cap round” mean?
To make a collec- tion. This is from the custom of street musicians, acrobats, etc^of sending a cap round among the onlookers to collect their pennies.
Is “to send the cap round” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.