hat in hand
With humility; in an apologetic or self-effacing fashion.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He went to his boss hat in hand to ask for forgiveness.”
“After realizing his mistake, he returned to the office hat in hand to apologize to his colleagues.”
“The disgraced official arrived at the hearing hat in hand, hoping that a display of genuine contrition might mitigate the severity of his impending punishment.”
- 01
all hat and no cattle
Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.
- 02
all hat and no cowboy
Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.
- 03
back of one's hand
A display of disrespect or scorn.
- 04
bear a hand
To make haste; to help quickly.
- 05
big hand
Synonym of minute hand (on a clock face).
- 06
bite someone's hand off
To enthusiastically accept an offer.
- 07
bite the hand that feeds one
To cause harm to a benefactor (especially one that one is dependent on, thus with the idea that this behaviour is self-damaging).
- 08
black hat
A villain in a story, especially in a Western (a film or other work of the Western genre).
Last updated August 10, 2026