Mad About Hats －帽子バカ－

I bought a new hat recently.

There is currently a closing down sale at a hat store in Koenji, and all the hats are half price.

My wife and son came with me to the hat shop.  I wore my old hat there.  I wanted to try on various hats to check the size, so I gave my old hat to my son to hold for a while.

I eventually chose a new hat to buy.  I asked my son if he still had my old hat.

 “Hmmmn?” he said.  “I don’t have it.  I think I must have put it down somewhere.”

Of all the places to lose a hat, my son had lost it in a hat store.  Apart from being hard to find, like a chameleon blending in to its surroundings, there was also a danger that someone would pick it up and try to buy it. 

We managed to retrieve my old hat in the end.

Here are a couple of hat related phrases in English:

1 – as mad as a hatter.

This means very mad, as in crazy.  Hats used to contain mercury, and hatters often suffered mercury poisoning, making them behave strangely.

 

2 – to keep something under one’s hat

This means to keep something secret

e.g., I am going to quit my job soon, but keep it under your hat.  I don’t want everybody to know.