This mini episode teaches you the expression “old hat.”
Episode 248 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the expression “old hat.” Send your questions about English and your suggestions for future episodes to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hi there! This is Ryoko Takao from Tokyo, Japan. And you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 248 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts, on the Stitcher app, and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to everybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you an interesting and strange expression. And that expression is “old hat.” Old hat. That’s spelled o-l-d h-a-t. Old hat.
This expression is not a noun. I mean, you can talk about an old hat, but this expression is an adjective. It looks like a noun, but it is really an adjective.
So what does the adjective old hat mean? Old hat means “old-fashioned” or “no longer stylish.” And we also use it for things that have become boring or uninteresting because they are so familiar. When we have experienced something so many times, it can become boring. And we can refer to that thing as old hat.
You might be thinking that this is a very strange expression. It looks like a noun phrase, but it’s used as an adjective. And you’re right: this is a strange expression.
Let me give you an example:
“Movies with lots of special effects used to be very exciting, but I think they have become old hat.” Movies with lots of special effects used to be very exciting, but I think they have become old hat.
What does this sentence mean? It means movies with lots of special effects used to be very exciting and interesting. But now we have seen so many movies like that. They really just aren’t as interesting anymore. They have become boring and too familiar. They have become old hat.
An important thing that I want to make sure you understand about this expression is that it is not a noun or noun phrase. So we do not use articles with it. We do not say things like “Movies with lots of special effects used to be very exciting, but now they have become an old hat.” We do not use this expression that way. We do not use it like a noun or noun phrase. It is an adjective:
Movies like that have become old hat. It’s just like saying, “Movies like that have become boring or too familiar or old-fashioned.”
And that is old hat. A very interesting expression that I think you should know.
Outro
That’s the end of episode 248 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have any questions about English, or if you have comments or suggestions about the podcast, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can use at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Ryoko recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to everybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with another episode, and until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. Goodbye! I’ll see you soon.