hold onto your hat

phrase

One should prepare for a surprise or shock.

Similar
hang onto your hat
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Meanings

phrase

alternative hold on to your hat

  1. humorousidiomaticusuallyOne should prepare for a surprise or shock.

    Hold onto your hat—intersecting planes are planes that cross, or intersect.

    2011, Mark Ryan, Geometry Essentials For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 14

    Synonyms: hang onto your hat

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hold, onto, hat.

Synonyms & antonyms

phraseOne should prepare for a surprise or shock.

Similar
hang onto your hat
Also see
hang onto your hat
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: hold onto your hat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.