Dictionary

bell-topper en · NOUN

Etymology

From bell, referring to its shape + topper (“top hat”).

Meanings

1. (Australia, dated) top hat; chimney-pot hat
   • “Now, you long ghost with the bell-topper, what did you pay for that coat? It's a Houndsditcher!” The sally was greeted with laughter from all who heard it. 1903, William Craig (of Invercargill, N.Z.), My Adventures on the Australian Goldfields (page 11)
   • There was a surprise awaiting them at Tooraloo, for the moment they arrived two persons in bell-toppers and long-tailed coats ran out from behind a fence[.] 1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, page 132:

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