Dick's hatband en · NOUN
Etymology
Unknown; theories include reference to some local figure named Dick or Nick; to Satan (cf. Old Nick and dickens); and to Richard Cromwell.
Meanings
-
(colloquial, dated, qualifier:now principally US) Used in similes as an intensifier, indicating someone or something is extremely strange, tight, etc.
I am as queer as Dick's hatband; that is, out of spirits, or don't know what ails me.
1796, Francis Grose, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. "Dick"A young Lady, the first or second Day of her Marriage, looks as queer as Dick's Hat-Band.
1742, James Ayres, Sancho at Court, act III, line 44:She's sharp as a tack when she wants to be and still tight as Dick's Hatband about her money.
2014, C.B. McKenzie, Bad Country, page 108:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nick's hatband | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
as tight as Dick's hatband · as fine as Dick's hatband · queer as Dick's hatband · tighter than Dick's hatband · as queer as Dick's hatband