old-hat

Học thuật
Thân thiện
old-hat

The comedian's jokes felt old-hat and predictable.

Definition

Adjective: 1. Out of fashion; no longer stylish or current: Refers to something that is considered outdated, passé, or not in vogue. 2. Repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse: Describes an idea, phrase, or joke that has become stale, boring, or unoriginal because it has been used excessively.

Usage Examples

  • Meaning 1 (Out of fashion):

    • Her old-hat dress from the 1980s looked charmingly vintage at the party.
    • That marketing strategy is completely old-hat; we need a modern approach.

  • Meaning 2 (Overused, trite):

    • The politician's speech was full of old-hat clichés that failed to inspire the audience.
    • Critics panned the film for its old-hat plot and predictable ending.
Advanced Usage
  • Used attributively (before a noun): The term is most commonly used directly before the noun it modifies to emphasize its outdated nature.
    • He dismissed the proposal as an old-hat concept.
  • Used predictively (after a linking verb like 'is', 'seems', 'became'):
    • That theory seems rather old-hat now.
Variants and Related Words
  • Old-fashioned (adj): Similar to the first meaning, but can also imply something is not modern in style or thought.
  • Outmoded (adj): No longer fashionable or accepted.
  • Passe (adj): No longer fashionable; out of date.
  • Hackneyed (adj): Overused and consequently lacking in significance or originality (similar to the second meaning).
  • Timeworn (adj): Showing the effects of long use or age; hackneyed.
  • Threadbare (adj): (Of a phrase, idea, etc.) used so often that it is no longer effective.
Synonyms
  • For "out of fashion": Outdated, antiquated, dated, obsolete, unfashionable.
  • For "overfamiliar through overuse": Trite, clichéd, stale, banal, commonplace, stereotyped, platitudinous.
Related Phrases and Idioms
  • "Old hat": This is the standard form of the idiom. It functions as a compound adjective and is typically hyphenated when used before a noun (old-hat).
    • Using a fax machine is old hat in today's digital office.
  • "As old as the hills": An idiom meaning very old or ancient, which shares the concept of being outdated or long-established.
old-hat

The comedian's jokes felt old-hat and predictable.

Adjective
  1. out of fashion
    • a suit of rather antique appearance
    • demode (or outmoded) attire
    • outmoded ideas
  2. repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
    • bromidic sermons
    • his remarks were trite and commonplace
    • hackneyed phrases
    • a stock answer
    • repeating threadbare jokes
    • parroting some timeworn axiom
    • the trite metaphor `hard as nails'

Từ đồng nghĩa

Từ tương tự