old hat

adjective

1

: old-fashioned

2

: lacking in freshness : trite

Examples of old hat in a Sentence

I suppose my favorite joke's a bit old hat by now.

Making hit movies is old hat for him.

Recent Examples on the Web

As with the last several of these opinions from the U.S. Tax Court, the real question does not go to the technical questions addressed therein, which are old hat with the opinions preceding them, but is instead why anybody would take this dog of a case to the U.S. Tax Court in the first place. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025

For Will Smith and Austin Barnes — two backstops who have caught World Series games — this drill is old hat. —Fabian Ardaya, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025

Campy, naughty, a little shocking, and a little old hat, The White Lotus’s third season has its flaws and its hang-ups, without question. —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2025

For example, while there’s been some talk in the trades of the NFL signing off on a floating break to be used in case of an emergency or otherwise unanticipated disruption in play, such a show of flexibility is old hat. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 7 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for old hat

• begat
• bobcat
• chitchat
• doormat
• ducat
• eclat
• format
• hazmat
• muskrat
• nonfat
• polecat
• thereat