to hang up one's hat
1
7.7
- idiom
- Informal
- Many retirees choose Florida as the place to hang up their hats and enjoy their golden years.
Examples
-
He moved from city to city for work, never staying long enough to hang up his hat anywhere.
-
After years of traveling, she finally decided to hang up her hat in a quiet coastal town.
-
I plan to hang up my hat here.
-
They decided to hang up their hats in a small town.
-
After years of traveling, they decided to hang up their hats in a quiet beach town.
-
She finally plans to hang up her hat in a cozy apartment downtown after moving around for so long.
-
When he retires, he hopes to hang up his hat in the countryside and enjoy a simpler life.
Synonyms
463
2.5
To live in a place, often for a long time
147
3.7
Move to a new place and start living or working there
8
4.2
To start living in one place for a long time and make it your home
3
2.1
To change where you live to a different home
Make a home and live in a place
Antonyms
How Settled
- Informal
8
4.2
463
2.5
- Informal
1
7.7
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrasal verb 'hang up' conveys stopping or suspending an activity and 'hat' can be used metaphorically for a role, so a learner who knows the constituents could plausibly infer a sense of 'stop doing a role'. However, the specific convention of using 'hang up one's hat' to mean retire or cease a long-term occupation relies on cultural/idiomatic knowledge, making the interpretation only partially predictable.
Etymology
The idiom hang up one's hat comes from the image of a traveler who puts their hat on a peg when they decide to stay in a place. That's why 'hanging up' the hat came to mean 'to settle' or 'make a home'.