to eat one's hat
- idiom
- Informal
:
me comeré mi sombrero
- Well, if he is, I will eat my hat.
Examples
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If Commie says one thing that'll hurt him in the cash register, I'll eat my hat.
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There's something amiss And I'll eat my hat if this isn't love.
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Why, I'll, I'll eat my hat if they--
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If you ever see the boy again-- if his gang of cutthroats isn't preparing a welcome home party for him right this minute, I'll eat my hat!
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LOVE WITH IT, I'LL JUST EAT MY HAT.
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If those shorts don't clinch things with the eminent Dr. Bricker, I'll eat my hat.
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I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH IT, I'LL JUST EAT MY I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH IT, I'LL JUST EAT MY HAT.
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If the report turns out to be true, I will eat my hat.
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I'll eat my hat if they win the championship this year.
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If she finishes that entire cake by herself, I will eat my hat.
Synonyms
2
8.1
A way to say something is very unlikely to happen
1
9.8
A phrase people say to show something is very unlikely to happen
1
7.5
Very unlikely to happen or almost impossible
A word people say when they cannot believe something
People say this to show that something will not happen
How Certain
Surface Forms
Morphology
eat + one + hat
The intended meaning (expressing extreme improbability or a vow to do something absurd if an unlikely event occurs) cannot be derived from the literal meanings of 'eat', 'one's', and 'hat'—the image is an absurd hyperbole whose conventional meaning is idiomatic. This is a fixed, conventionalized English idiom whose metaphorical sense is unpredictable and unlikely to be guessed by a B1 learner who knows the parts but has not encountered the expression.
Etymology
The idiom eat one's hat comes from a funny, literal picture: someone saying they will eat their hat if something happens. So it is a joking way to say you think that thing is 'very unlikely'.