Donate SIGN UP

Tin Hat

Avatar Image
tigga | 18:15 Thu 09th Dec 2004 | Phrases & Sayings
3 Answers

Anybody know why we call it a 'tin hat' when playing pool and pot all our balls before opponent pots any ?

Thanks

  
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 3 of 3rss feed

Best Answer

No best answer has yet been selected by tigga. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.

For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.

My guess is that it is related to the war-time saying: "That's put the tin hat on it!" It was used in situations which involved bringing about the 'end' of something. For example, one of a group of schoolboys stealing apples might have cried: "Here's the farmer...that's put the tin hat on it!" (A similar phrase was 'to put the kybosh on' things.) It was no doubt related to the idea that a tin helmet - otherwise known as a tin hat - was almost certainly the very last item of his uniform a soldier actually put on before going on duty.

I've never actually heard it used in a pool-playing situation, but the above seems a reasonable explanation to describe a total whitewash...ie it's all over.

In all my years of playing pool, being a captain and on the committee of a local pool league, I have never heard of that being called a 'tin hat'. In our area (Devon), it's generally called a 'whitewash' when your opponent is left with all their balls on the table.
like jansy, i have never heard of "tin-hat" being used in pool.  In my local, it's called "7-balling" your opponent.

1 to 3 of 3rss feed

Do you know the answer?

Tin Hat

Answer Question >>