old hat

American  

adjective

1. old-fashioned; dated.

2. trite from having long been used or known.

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old hat British  

adjective

1. (postpositive) old-fashioned or trite

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old hat Cultural  

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

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Etymology

Origin of old hat

First recorded in 1745–55

Explanation

Anything that's old-hat has grown so familiar that it's boring or seems old-fashioned. Your grandfather's war stories might be fascinating to your friends, but after hearing them so many times, they're old-hat to you. A lot of what your'e studying in school might be exciting in September but completely old-hat by May. The same could be said of your lines in a play: they're a challenge to memorize and then thrilling to say on opening night, but if the show runs for a month, your part will soon be old-hat and you'll be ready to audition for a new role. This adjective was first recorded in the early twentieth century.

Example Sentences

“He was old hat, and Las Vegas was seen as the graveyard of the stars.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

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.

From Barron's • Oct. 27, 2025

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

From Slate • Sep. 30, 2025

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 • May 16, 2025

“Git yo old hat, er de umbreller. I dont keer which.”

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner