dunce cap

American  

Or dunce's cap

noun

1. a tall, cone-shaped hat formerly worn by slow or lazy students as a punishment in school.

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dunce cap British  

noun

1. a conical paper hat, formerly placed on the head of a dull child at school

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Etymology

Origin of dunce cap

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

If you do think that he could, please step forward and claim your complimentary dunce cap, and infuse it with your own naivete.

From Salon • May 5, 2023

Abraham Lincoln imprisoned editors during the Civil War, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt admonished a journalist to go to the corner and wear a dunce cap.

From Washington Times • Dec. 3, 2020

She didn’t seem interested in the $20 an hour I was happy to pay, but Garcia agreed to give things a try before handing me a dunce cap.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2019

Above all, Hader did not strike out Soto, the kind of left-handed hitter he is supposed to dominate, intimidate and fit for a dunce cap.

From Washington Post • Oct. 2, 2019

A funnel of mosquitoes, like an inverted dunce cap, whined over her head.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy