# proper name for these hats? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369 "2005-08-31T01:32:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![seaworthy82](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@seaworthy82](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seaworthy82)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/1 "2005-08-31T01:32:53Z")
Didn’t quite know where to look for this. The first hat is commonly called a beanie around here, it’s a tight-fitting knit hat that you would wear while skiing. I know it’s not a beanie, but is there a better name for it than “knit hat?” The second hat is called a scally cap. It looks like a newsboy-type hat. Problem is, I can’t seem to find out if this is a real word, if it’s actually what the hat is called, and what the heck it means. So far my research suggests this might be a derogatory British term, maybe that’s where the name for the hat comes from. Perhaps it’s popular among football hooligans or something, and that’s where the name comes from? I also saw something that suggested it was an Irish trend that spread elsewhere in the eighties, but I don’t recall seeing these back then, so I don’t know. I don’t really know why I care, but it just bothers me that I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/2 "2005-08-31T02:00:40Z")
As any Canadian can tell you, the first one is a tuque/toque/touque/however you want to spell the damn word. Can’t help you with the second one, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/3 "2005-08-31T02:03:38Z")
In the US, the first type is called a watch cap. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/4 "2005-08-31T02:06:03Z")
(The first one) We call them sock hats or sock caps. The Army calls them patrol caps. (The second one) I don’t have a clue. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/5 "2005-08-31T02:19:04Z")
> [@Emilio Lizardo](#): > > In the US, the first type is called a watch cap. [Watch cap](http://www.royea.net/twistedrib.html). I assume from being the kind of cap you might wear while on watch at sea. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/6 "2005-08-31T02:31:02Z")
> [@seaworthy82](#): > > The second hat is called a scally cap. It looks like a newsboy-type hat. Problem is, I can’t seem to find out if this is a real word, if it’s actually what the hat is called, and what the heck it means. Google gets 1,380 hits for [scally caps](http://www.lignewport.com/index.cfm?Cat_ID=149), including merchandise sites, so it looks like a reasonably widespread term. They also seem to be called “newsboy caps.” > [@seaworthy82](#): > > So far my research suggests this might be a derogatory British term, maybe that’s where the name for the hat comes from. Perhaps it’s popular among football hooligans or something, and that’s where the name comes from? It appears to be a standard part of [skinhead gear](http://www.io.com/~qsb/gear/guide.html). > [@](#): > > There’s really only one unique type of headwear most skins seem to wear nowadays, and those are them good old scally caps. Kangol is one major manufacturer of scallycaps, but brands really don’t mean too much anyhow. Probably because it’s too easy to loose a hat of all things, so not a whole lot of money will want to be spent on a name brand. Scally caps come in many different styles, solids, plaid, checkered and striped. Made famous by irish folks, these seem to have caught on and stood the test of time as a traditional skinhead favourite. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/7 "2005-08-31T03:00:19Z")
Interestingly, this site, calling itself [Scally Central](http://www.scallycentral.com/articles/bluewater-ban.htm) includes several links to stories in which the headgear is called a “baseball cap.” Aside from the plaid, the shape of the caps shown are definitely those of what I would (in the U.S.) call a baseball cap. I’m not sure what we would call one made of plaid flannel–perhaps a hunter’s cap? (Neither flannel nor plaid are associated with any baseball images of mine.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/8 "2005-08-31T03:08:36Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Interestingly, this site, calling itself [Scally Central](http://www.scallycentral.com/articles/bluewater-ban.htm) includes several links to stories in which the headgear is called a “baseball cap.” Aside from the plaid, the shape of the caps shown are definitely those of what I would (in the U.S.) call a baseball cap. The skinhead site I linked to above continues: > [@](#): > > Once in a while you’ll see a skinhead wearing a baseball cap, but it’s a bit of a rare case it seems. Aside from Scallycaps, also popular among skins are the beanie head gloves, knit top caps. Cheap, warm and _ahem_ trendy. When it’s not cold out, skins usually don’t wear too much on their heads. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/9 "2005-08-31T03:40:27Z")
I know the first type as toque, watch cap, knit cap, and stocking cap. Not knowing a correct name, I used to call the second type “British sports car driver’s cap.” I have also heard it called snap-brim cap. ---
**Author:** ![seaworthy82](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@seaworthy82](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seaworthy82)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/10 "2005-08-31T12:42:19Z")
I was hoping for some confirmation that “scally” was a commonly used term. Since none of you have heard of it, and it doesn’t seem to exist outside skinhead subculture, I just want to know where it came from and if it’s the correct term for the hat or if it’s slang. Even Kangol, one of the manufacturers of these hats, just calls them 504s. Scally apparently has Irish roots, so if there are any Irish dopers out there, what do you call these hats? ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/11 "2005-09-02T16:43:43Z")
> [@seaworthy82](#): > > I was hoping for some confirmation that “scally” was a commonly used term. Since none of you have heard of it, and it doesn’t seem to exist outside skinhead subculture, I just want to know where it came from and if it’s the correct term for the hat or if it’s slang. Even Kangol, one of the manufacturers of these hats, just calls them 504s. Scally apparently has Irish roots, so if there are any Irish dopers out there, what do you call these hats? Scally is plenty common in UK English; it represents some sort of British equivalent of “White Trash”. I’m sure someone can come and explain exactly what a “scally” is and how it differs from a “chav” and the various other British slang terms for uncivilized folk. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-name-for-these-hats/319369/12 "2005-09-02T18:32:00Z")
> [@Emilio Lizardo](#): > > In the US, the first type is called a watch cap. Here we call them toboggans, or just knit hats. Or ski hats.