hard hat

¹

noun

1. a protective helmet of metal or plastic, especially as worn by construction or factory workers.
2. a uniformed soldier of a regular army, as opposed to a guerrilla.

hard-hat

²

or hard·hat

[ hahrd-hat ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a construction worker, especially a member of a construction workers' union.
2. a working-class conservative.

adjective

1. pertaining to or characteristic of hard-hats:

   enlisting hard-hat support for his policies.

hard hat

noun

1. a hat made of a hard material for protection, worn esp by construction workers, equestrians, etc
2. informal.
   a construction worker

adjective

1. informal.
   characteristic of the presumed conservative attitudes and prejudices typified by construction workers

Word History and Origins

Origin of hard hat¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Origin of hard hat²

First recorded in 1960–65

Idioms and Phrases

A working-class ultraconservative. For example, They were counting on a large number of votes from the hard hats . This term alludes to the rigid protective headgear worn by construction workers, who were noted for their conservatism during the tumultuous 1960s. [c. 1960]

Example Sentences

“He has a hard-hat mentality, blue-collar guy. I just appreciate how he went about things and I just wanted to reward him.”

From Los Angeles Times

The first to be evacuated, a short man wearing a dark grey winter jacket and a yellow hard-hat, was garlanded with marigold flowers and welcomed in traditional Indian style inside the tunnel by state chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and federal deputy highways minister V.K.

From Reuters

Still, this transformation is core to Biden’s vision of hard-hat environmentalism, which promises that shifting away from fossil fuels will generate blue-collar jobs.

From Seattle Times

Lodge wore a hard-hat with a company logo and spoke of the need to open up mining on the seabed.

From Washington Post

As a historical site, the factory has hosted “hundreds, if not thousands,” of people for hard-hat tours said Mackensie Wittmer, executive director of the National Aviation Heritage Area in Dayton.

From New York Times

Related Words

• helmet