Word of the Day

: August 30, 2010

flat-hat

verb FLAT-hat

What It Means

: to fly low in an airplane in a reckless manner : hedgehop

flat-hat in Context

Unable to resist the temptation to show off, the young pilot decreased altitude and flat-hatted over the county fairground.

Did You Know?

Legend has it that the term "flat-hat" originated with an incident back in the days of barnstormers in which a pedestrian’s hat was crushed by a low-flying airplane. According to one version of the tale, the reckless pilot was subsequently required to purchase a new hat for the hapless pedestrian. It seems unlikely that such an event actually took place, but we can well imagine how fear of having one’s hat smashed flat by a passing airplane might have given rise to such a vivid verb. "Flat-hat" first appeared in English in 1940; another word for flying low to the ground, "hedgehop," debuted 14 years earlier.