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.

---

dunce cap British  

noun

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

---

Etymology

Origin of dunce cap

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dunce cap

It’s about as academically relevant to today’s students as Sadie Hawkins Day, and as necessary as a dunce cap.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2024

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

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 morel resembles a tanned finger wearing a dark and deeply honeycombed dunce cap.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan