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Glite Dictionary
to hand someone their hat

to hand someone their hat

8.7
Fire someone from their job
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : dar la patada
  • After the project failed, the director handed him his hat, telling him it was time to go.

Examples

  • It was no surprise when the board handed him his hat after the poor results.

  • When the scandal broke, the company quietly handed her her hat.

  • After missing several deadlines, the manager finally handed him his hat.

  • The manager handed him his hat after the meeting.

  • Did they hand her her hat?

  • The coach handed her his hat after the team lost another game.

  • When the CEO learned of the misconduct, he handed her her hat in a private meeting.

Synonyms

to give the heave-ho
vsto hand someone their hat
  • Informal
4 8.5

To tell someone to leave their job or to stop using something

signals it is time to leave rather than doing it abruptly
to give the sack
vsto hand someone their hat
  • UK
5.9

To tell someone they must leave their job

is informal and often signals to the person that they should leave
to hand someone their cards
vsto hand someone their hat
  • Informal
9.3

To tell someone they have lost their job or show the truth about their situation

focuses only on informal dismissal from a position rather than revealing truth
to give the elbow
vsto hand someone their hat
  • UK
9.0

To end a relationship or stop someone from working for you

is informal and used mainly for dismissing someone from a work role

Antonyms

to hire
∞ 1.4

To give someone a job and pay them for their work

Surface Forms

hand someone their hat infinitive
handed someone their hat past
handed someone their hat past participle
handing someone their hat present participle
hands someone their hat third person singular

Morphology

hand + someone + their + hat

The literal composition 'hand' (give) + 'someone' + 'their' + 'hat' yields the concrete action of returning or giving a hat, so a B1 learner who only knows the words would most likely interpret it literally. The idiomatic meaning 'to dismiss someone' is not directly predictable from those constituents and depends on cultural/figurative usage, so learners who have not encountered the phrase would not reliably infer the intended sense.

Etymology

The idiom hand someone their hat may come from the simple image of a boss handing a worker their hat and coat when it is time to leave. So, the phrase now means 'to dismiss someone from a job'.