hatcheck girl
2
8.6
- noun
- /ˈhætˌʧɛk ɡɜrl/
- Archaic
:
chica de guardarropía
- At the gala, the hatcheck girl ensured that every guest's belongings were secured and labeled.
Examples
-
- Bartender or hatcheck girl.
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The hatcheck girl greeted us warmly as we entered the restaurant, ready to take our coats.
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The hatcheck girl was gone.
Blog text (16) -
I was the hatcheck girl at the Troubadour.
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She's going to be a hatcheck girl.
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This isn't a hatcheck girl you can leave behind at the Sheraton.
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Only the hatcheck girl and a few waiters impatiently flicking napkins remained.
Academic text (2016) -
As the last guests left, the hatcheck girl carefully hung up the remaining hats and coats.
Synonyms
2
6.8
A woman who takes coats or umbrellas at an entrance and gives a ticket to get them back
Surface Forms
Morphology
hatcheck + girl
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'hat' + 'check' (hat-check/cloakroom service) and 'girl' (female attendant), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer a woman who checks/guards hats and coats. Although 'hatcheck' as a single lexical entry may be unfamiliar, the compound follows common English noun-compound + 'girl' patterns and uses frequent words, making the sense immediately accessible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Hatcheck girl comes from old clubs and theaters where a young woman stood at the hat check desk to take people's hats and give them a ticket. That's why hatcheck girl means 'a woman who looks after customers' hats and coats'.