ten-gallon hat

English

Etymology

Not certain. An earlier form without the number, gallon hat, comes by folk etymology from the Spanish galón (“braid”). It may also be a hyperbolic reference to the size of the hat, or a combination of the two.

Noun

ten-gallon hat (plural ten-gallon hats)

A large cowboy hat, not holding ten gallons like the name would suggest but usually around three quarts.

References

“Ten-gallon hat” in Michael Quinion, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, 2004, →ISBN.

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