thinking cap
7
5.3
- noun
- /ˈθɪŋkɪŋ kæp/
- Informal
:
cabeza pensante
- He realized that to come up with a good solution, it was time to don his thinking cap.
- put on your thinking cap
If you don't know that, then it's time to put your thinking cap back on and start trying to be a better parent.
- If you don't know that, then it's time to put your thinking cap back on and start trying to be a better parent.
- So after, after that, I had to put put my thinking cap on and really see, OK, where, where did the money go?
- So putting on putting on thinking cap of like, all right, what would they sing about?
- So get out there and put your thinking caps on and hit your spots, places, everybody.
Examples
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We're gonna put on our thinking caps.
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If that is the case, the daughter should put her thinking cap on, because she has plenty of options here.
Blog text (19) -
So after, after that, I had to put put my thinking cap on and really see, OK, where, where did the money go?
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I can see you got your thinking cap on.
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So put on your thinking cap.
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When he left, I put on my thinking cap.
Fiction book (1994) -
So put your thinking cap on and let me know who you are.
Blog text (10) -
I'll just have to put my thinking cap on.
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You need to put on your thinking cap (and do some research) before trying to pass this off as "fact."
Blog text (33) -
You can help others in a multitude of ways, so put on your thinking cap and see what you can come up with!
Blog text (16)
Antonyms
How Focused
Surface Forms
Morphology
thinking + cap
The compound combines the transparent words 'thinking' and 'cap' but its meaning is figurative: it refers to adopting a focused mindset rather than a literal hat. A B1 learner who knows both words can likely infer the general idea (prepare to think), but the conventional metaphor of 'putting on' a mental stance is not fully literal or predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The noun thinking cap comes from the simple picture of putting on a special hat, the cap, to get into a thinking mood, the thinking. That's why saying 'put on your thinking cap' means 'to focus and think carefully'.