hat trick

[ hat trik ]

noun

1. Cricket. the knocking off by one bowler of three wickets with three successive pitches.
2. Ice Hockey, Soccer. three goals scored by one player in one game:

   He was the only athlete in our school’s history to achieve a hat trick in both hockey and soccer.

3. Baseball. three like feats executed by one player in one game, especially three home runs:

   In last night’s game, Marley performed a most unusual hat trick, with his three unassisted double plays.

4. a series of three related successes or accomplishments, especially when achieved one after the other and in close proximity:

   Once again, Kay won the blue ribbons for dill pickles, bread-and-butter pickles, and pickled beets—her annual pickle hat trick!

hat-trick

noun

1. cricket the achievement of a bowler in taking three wickets with three successive balls
2. any achievement of three points, victories, awards, etc within a given period, esp three goals scored by the same player in a soccer match

hat trick

1. In some sports, such as ice hockey, three goals by one player in a single game: “Lemieux scores for the third time tonight; he finally has the hat trick he's been looking for all season.”

Notes

The phrase originally referred to a hat traditionally given to a cricket player who scored three wickets, or goals.

By extension, a hat trick is an outstanding performance by an individual, or a particularly clever or adroit maneuver: “She pulled off a hat trick with her presentation to the committee.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of hat trick¹

First recorded in 1865–70; so called because formerly such a cricket bowler was rewarded with a hat

Idioms and Phrases

An extremely clever or adroit maneuver, as in It looked as though the party was going to achieve a hat trick in this election . The term originated in cricket, where it refers to three wickets taken by a bowler in three consecutive balls, traditionally rewarded with the presentation of a hat. It later was transferred to ice hockey, soccer, and baseball, where it denotes three consecutive successes (goals, hits), and then to more general use.