"talk through one's hat" meaning in English

See talk through one's hat in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-talk through one's hat.ogg [Australia] Forms: talks through one's hat [present, singular, third-person], talking through one's hat [participle, present], talked through one's hat [participle, past], talked through one's hat [past]
Etymology: Attested from the late 19th century in the United States in the sense of “bluff”; the sense “speak without authority or knowledge” developed later. Although some people speculate a connection to a former requirement that British Members of Parliament wear hats, the connection is implausible. Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} talk through one's hat (third-person singular simple present talks through one's hat, present participle talking through one's hat, simple past and past participle talked through one's hat)
  1. (idiomatic) To speak lacking expertise, authority, or knowledge; to invent or fabricate facts. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: talk through one's ass Related terms: nonsense, BS Translations (to speak lacking knowledge): lullen (Dutch), puhua läpiä päähänsä (Finnish), parler à travers son chapeau (French), parler à tort et à travers (French), keinen blassen Schimmer haben (German), wie der Blinde von der Farbe reden (German), mówić jak ślepy o kolorach [imperfective] (Polish), hablar por boca de ganso (Spanish), prata i nattmössan (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-talk_through_one's_hat-en-verb-C4DAE1Dr Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 64 36 Disambiguation of 'to speak lacking knowledge': 97 3
  2. (idiomatic) To assert something as true or valid; to bluff. Tags: idiomatic Translations (to bluff): puhua vastoin parempaa tietoaan (Finnish), auf den Arm nehmen (German), einen Bären aufbinden (German), zum Narren halten (German)
    Sense id: en-talk_through_one's_hat-en-verb-0PN8mrIs Disambiguation of 'to bluff': 3 97

Download JSON data for talk through one's hat meaning in English (4.7kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "Attested from the late 19th century in the United States in the sense of “bluff”; the sense “speak without authority or knowledge” developed later. Although some people speculate a connection to a former requirement that British Members of Parliament wear hats, the connection is implausible.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "talks through one's hat",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "talking through one's hat",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "talked through one's hat",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "talked through one's hat",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "talk through one's hat (third-person singular simple present talks through one's hat, present participle talking through one's hat, simple past and past participle talked through one's hat)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "64 36",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1900, Gilbert Parker, At The Sign Of The Eagle",
          "text": "\"Mr. Pride said to me a moment ago that they spoke better English in Boston than any other place in the world.\"\n\"Did he, though, Lady Lawless? That's good. Well, I guess he was only talking through his hat.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To speak lacking expertise, authority, or knowledge; to invent or fabricate facts."
      ],
      "id": "en-talk_through_one's_hat-en-verb-C4DAE1Dr",
      "links": [
        [
          "expertise",
          "expertise"
        ],
        [
          "authority",
          "authority"
        ],
        [
          "invent",
          "invent"
        ],
        [
          "fabricate",
          "fabricate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To speak lacking expertise, authority, or knowledge; to invent or fabricate facts."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "57 43",
          "word": "nonsense"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "57 43",
          "word": "BS"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "talk through one's ass"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
          "word": "lullen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
          "word": "puhua läpiä päähänsä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
          "word": "parler à travers son chapeau"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
          "word": "parler à tort et à travers"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
          "word": "keinen blassen Schimmer haben"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
          "word": "wie der Blinde von der Farbe reden"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "mówić jak ślepy o kolorach"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
          "word": "hablar por boca de ganso"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
          "word": "prata i nattmössan"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1905, “The Norsk Nightingale”, in Popular Mechanics, page 478",
          "text": "No, sir, she yust standing pat, / And vonce more she tal her father, / “Yu ban talking tru yure hat!”",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 14, in Right Ho, Jeeves",
          "text": "He's conceited and opinionative and argues all the time, even when he knows perfectly well that he's talking through his hat.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To assert something as true or valid; to bluff."
      ],
      "id": "en-talk_through_one's_hat-en-verb-0PN8mrIs",
      "links": [
        [
          "assert",
          "assert"
        ],
        [
          "valid",
          "valid"
        ],
        [
          "bluff",
          "bluff"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To assert something as true or valid; to bluff."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to bluff",
          "word": "puhua vastoin parempaa tietoaan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to bluff",
          "word": "auf den Arm nehmen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to bluff",
          "word": "einen Bären aufbinden"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to bluff",
          "word": "zum Narren halten"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-talk through one's hat.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fb/En-au-talk_through_one%27s_hat.ogg/En-au-talk_through_one%27s_hat.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/En-au-talk_through_one%27s_hat.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "United States"
  ],
  "word": "talk through one's hat"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Attested from the late 19th century in the United States in the sense of “bluff”; the sense “speak without authority or knowledge” developed later. Although some people speculate a connection to a former requirement that British Members of Parliament wear hats, the connection is implausible.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "talks through one's hat",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "talking through one's hat",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "talked through one's hat",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "talked through one's hat",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "talk through one's hat (third-person singular simple present talks through one's hat, present participle talking through one's hat, simple past and past participle talked through one's hat)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "nonsense"
    },
    {
      "word": "BS"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1900, Gilbert Parker, At The Sign Of The Eagle",
          "text": "\"Mr. Pride said to me a moment ago that they spoke better English in Boston than any other place in the world.\"\n\"Did he, though, Lady Lawless? That's good. Well, I guess he was only talking through his hat.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To speak lacking expertise, authority, or knowledge; to invent or fabricate facts."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "expertise",
          "expertise"
        ],
        [
          "authority",
          "authority"
        ],
        [
          "invent",
          "invent"
        ],
        [
          "fabricate",
          "fabricate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To speak lacking expertise, authority, or knowledge; to invent or fabricate facts."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "talk through one's ass"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1905, “The Norsk Nightingale”, in Popular Mechanics, page 478",
          "text": "No, sir, she yust standing pat, / And vonce more she tal her father, / “Yu ban talking tru yure hat!”",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 14, in Right Ho, Jeeves",
          "text": "He's conceited and opinionative and argues all the time, even when he knows perfectly well that he's talking through his hat.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To assert something as true or valid; to bluff."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "assert",
          "assert"
        ],
        [
          "valid",
          "valid"
        ],
        [
          "bluff",
          "bluff"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To assert something as true or valid; to bluff."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-talk through one's hat.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fb/En-au-talk_through_one%27s_hat.ogg/En-au-talk_through_one%27s_hat.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/En-au-talk_through_one%27s_hat.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
      "word": "lullen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
      "word": "puhua läpiä päähänsä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
      "word": "parler à travers son chapeau"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
      "word": "parler à tort et à travers"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
      "word": "keinen blassen Schimmer haben"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
      "word": "wie der Blinde von der Farbe reden"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "mówić jak ślepy o kolorach"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
      "word": "hablar por boca de ganso"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "to speak lacking knowledge",
      "word": "prata i nattmössan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to bluff",
      "word": "puhua vastoin parempaa tietoaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to bluff",
      "word": "auf den Arm nehmen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to bluff",
      "word": "einen Bären aufbinden"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to bluff",
      "word": "zum Narren halten"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "United States"
  ],
  "word": "talk through one's hat"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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