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

Left-wing media bias is old hat, and complaints about the BBC date at least to Margaret Thatcher’s day.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

All-time highs have become old hat to a market that’s seen the S&P 5oo notch nearly three dozen record closes this year, and the catalysts are familiar too: trade and tech.

Read more on Barron's

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

Read more on Slate

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

Read more on 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?

Read more on Los Angeles Times