You wear Hector's cloak
Preserved but no longer current.
You are paid in your own coin for trying to deceive another. When Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, in 1569, was routed, he hid himself in the house of Hector Armstrong, of Harlaw. This villain betrayed him for the reward offered, but never after did anything go well with him till at last he died a beggar on the roadside.
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 “You wear Hector's cloak” mean?
You are paid in your own coin for trying to deceive another. When Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, in 1569, was routed, he hid himself in the house of Hector Armstrong, of Harlaw. This villain betrayed him for the reward offered, but never after did anything go well with him till at last he died a beggar on the roadside.
Is “You wear Hector's cloak” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.