ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hold onto your hat

idiom
Meaning

One should prepare for a surprise or shock.


Examples
SIMPLE

Hold onto your hat, because the news is quite surprising.

CONTEXTUAL

The director told the staff to hold onto their hats before announcing the sudden company merger.

COMPLEX

You should hold onto your hat, as the final chapter of this novel contains a twist that completely redefines the entire plot.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    all hat and no cattle

    Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.

  2. 02

    all hat and no cowboy

    Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.

  3. 03

    apron-string hold

    An estate held by a man during his wife's life.

  4. 04

    black hat

    A villain in a story, especially in a Western (a film or other work of the Western genre).

  5. 05

    brick in one's hat

    Drunkenness.

  6. 06

    buy and hold

    A passive investment strategy where an investor purchases an asset and retains it for many years, rather than trading it frequently.

  7. 07

    buy straw hats in winter

    Of stocks, to buy when both demand and price are low, so as to sell when demand and price are high.

  8. 08

    does the Pope wear a funny hat

    Obviously! Rhetorical question in response to a question where the answer is an emphatic yes.

Last updated April 17, 2026