bowler hat out

verb

To eject (someone) from an organization.

“Joe was bowler hatted out of the R.A.F. for misconduct.”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbbowler hat out (third-person singular simple present bowler hats out, present participle bowler hatting out, simple past and past participle bowler hatted out)

present singular third person bowler hats out · participle present bowler hatting out · participle past bowler hatted out · past bowler hatted out · alternative bowler-hat out

  1. UKdatedslangusually passive voicegovernmentTo eject (someone) from an organization.

    Joe was bowler hatted out of the R.A.F. for misconduct.

    3 more examples

    "Bit of luck my being here," said the brigadier, with a smile, rather like a schoolboy who has done something and got away with it. "You see, I was bowler-hatted out there. Question of age. Then, when I came back they reconsidered things.

    1946, Richard McMillan, Miracle Before Berlin

    If an idea flopped, a subordinate would be bowler-hatted out of the gang; if the idea was successful, then it was Ted Donnell done it.

    1958, P.H.H. Bryan, The Barford Cat Affair

    His name was Bill Sulis and amazingly he had been bowler hatted out of the Royal Air Force for flying a monoplane upside down and pranging it.

    1979, Oliver Reed, Reed All about Me: The Autobiography of Oliver Reed

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
bowler hat

Origin

Reputed to be from the practice of turning Royal Air Force men out by giving them their bowler hat and telling them to go.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bowler hat out. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowler%20hat%20out

MLA

“bowler hat out.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowler%20hat%20out. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bowler hat out,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowler%20hat%20out.

Source: bowler hat out on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.