old hat

adjective

1. old-fashioned; dated.

2. trite from having long been used or known.

old hat

adjective

1. (postpositive) old-fashioned or trite

old hat

1. Obsolete, old-fashioned: “Get with it, Murray; your methods are strictly old hat.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of old hat¹

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

Maybe the headlines about looming shutdown deadlines feel like old hat, at this point.

From Slate

“Even though they were only a couple of years older than the Beatles, they were treated as old hat,” says Mazor.

From Los Angeles Times

Setting fires to garbage cans in the middle of a street is old hat — how about providing shelter to undocumented families living with the terrifying reality that their time in this country might soon be up?

From Los Angeles Times

One-time hick-hop rapper Jelly Roll is old hat at songs to soundtrack shirking child support payments, but he’s found a bit of a new lane in the path blazed by Wallen.

From Salon

In that sense, Donald Trump represents something that might be considered old hat in this world of ours: the decline of empire.

From Salon