# What's your normal name for a Flat Cap? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 16, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176 "2016-03-16T17:00:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Thumper1961](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@Thumper1961](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper1961)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/61 "2018-10-24T01:57:46Z")
My hubby is 1/2 Scottish and 1/2 Irish and he says he has always referred to it as a cocksucker hat. He wears his turned backwards though. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/62 "2018-10-24T02:18:09Z")
> [@Thumper1961](#): > > My hubby is 1/2 Scottish and 1/2 Irish and he says he has always referred to it as a cocksucker hat. He wears his turned backwards though. And the award for this week’s most memorable first post goes to… ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/63 "2018-10-24T02:42:09Z")
That’s a cabbie (cabdriver) hat. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/64 "2018-10-24T03:06:57Z")
We call it a Brian Johnson special.😃 ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/65 "2018-10-24T03:55:50Z")
> [@dba\_Fred](#): > > I called it a _Jackie Stewart racing hat_ because I saw a photo of him wearing one in a racetrack pit. Since someone awoke it -------- I have one of his hats from the very early 70s with the name tag and everything. His actually had more of a side and top and the top was actually more flat than what pops up in the OPs Google image search. [https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/360/1113/24/jackie-stewart-black-corduroy-cap\_360\_16219fe6db761f32a85d26d7f1dfae10.jpg](https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/360/1113/24/jackie-stewart-black-corduroy-cap_360_16219fe6db761f32a85d26d7f1dfae10.jpg) [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Anefo_924-6616_Jackie_Stewart%2C_Zandvoort_18.06.1971.jpg/300px-Anefo_924-6616_Jackie_Stewart%2C_Zandvoort_18.06.1971.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Anefo_924-6616_Jackie_Stewart%2C_Zandvoort_18.06.1971.jpg/300px-Anefo_924-6616_Jackie_Stewart%2C_Zandvoort_18.06.1971.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/66 "2018-10-24T04:46:26Z")
Somewhere along the way I picked up calling that style a ‘walking cap.’ I spent 2 years living in England long ago, but I can’t say that’s where I heard it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/67 "2018-10-24T07:22:28Z")
On thing I forgot to mention about flat caps in South Africa is that they have particular associations for Black culture. If I saw a young Black guy wearing one, especially a [check or tweed one](https://za.pinterest.com/unamntantala/amakrwala/?lp=true), I would be reasonably sure that he was a [recent](https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/2010-04-11-clothes-that-make-the-man/) [initiate](https://magazine.africageographic.com/weekly/issue-48/xhosa-circumcision-ritual-south-africa-its-hard-to-be-a-man/). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/68 "2018-10-24T07:38:43Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > There must be dozens of names for the [Flat Cap](https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0LEV2CykOlWM1QAfV1XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE0aGgwa3JwBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjE1NjNfMQRzZWMDcGl2cw--?p=flat+cap&fr=yfp-t-201&fr2=piv-web) so which one is your usual one? In Spanish _gorrilla_. Typical of Madrid and specifically of the [chulapo](http://www.maty.es/adulto/2672-chaleco-chulapo-forrado.html) look (i.e., the “typical Madrid” look), Felipe VI has been known to wear one when visiting locations in which he needed to cover his head. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/69 "2018-10-24T11:29:51Z")
I call mine a driving cap, but haven’t worn it in about thirty years - I lived in a colder climate then. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/70 "2018-10-24T11:52:05Z")
> [@Thumper1961](#): > > My hubby is 1/2 Scottish and 1/2 Irish and he says he has always referred to it as a cocksucker hat. He wears his turned backwards though. Maybe buy him some nice mouthwash then? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/71 "2018-10-24T13:25:17Z")
I call them zombie caps because they keep one’s braaaaaiiiinnnsss warm. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/72 "2018-10-24T13:30:41Z")
> [@CGav8r](#): > > Guessing [Fred Dibnah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Dibnah)would be a good example? More like Clegg from the seemingly interminable British sitcom Last of the Summer Wine. Clegg was played by Peter Sallis who was also the voice of Wallace, owner of Gromit. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/73 "2018-10-24T18:29:45Z")
My friend’s father, now in his 80s, calls them Jeff Caps. I have no idea why. I had the impression that it was short for Jefferson. Northwest Philadelphia background, if that matters. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/74 "2018-10-24T18:34:13Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > My friend’s father, now in his 80s, calls them Jeff Caps. I have no idea why. I had the impression that it was short for Jefferson. Northwest Philadelphia background, if that matters. I’ve heard them called Andy Caps (after the cartoon I assume) but Jeff was a totally new one to me. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/75 "2018-10-24T19:26:58Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > I call mine a driving cap, but haven’t worn it in about thirty years - I lived in a colder climate then. I call mine a driver’s cap. Or just a cap. Pretty much my “go-to” hat when a ball cap or knit watchcap won’t do. Wearing it to work in the morning messes up the hair somewhat less than the others and it looks a tad more “professional.” But the real payoff is in Chicago winters. The versions I have have thinsulate and earflaps. In the middle of the winter in Chicago, you don’t care how you look! ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/76 "2018-10-24T19:33:59Z")
I don’t have a name for this kind of hat; I have to explain what kind it is if I mention it. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/77 "2018-10-24T19:50:35Z")
Several online retailers call it a Jeff cap - I don’t think they’re all from the same region. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/78 "2018-10-24T19:58:01Z")
I must really be an outlier then. We always called them ‘snapbrim caps’ when I was growing up. I have a leather one around here somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/79 "2018-10-24T21:19:19Z")
I call 'em flat caps too–in fact, I just got my first one a week ago. Had to get a matching sportcoat, and now I guess I’m finally old enough to pull off that look. But damn, I rock that mofo. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176/80 "2018-10-24T22:22:26Z")
I think of them as ‘shooter caps’. They’re always worn deer stalking in England. Unlike Sherlocks deer stalker hat. But still. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-normal-name-for-a-flat-cap/749176.md?page=5)