the.com/hatband
The only part of a hat that admits a head is a tragic approximation of a circle.
means The strip of material—ribbon, leather, or cord—that wraps around the base of a hat's crown, either to decorate it or to help it fit.
from Straightforward compound of 'hat' plus 'band,' band here carrying its old sense of a binding strip or encircling ring, the same sense that gives us wristbands and wedding bands. English has been cinching things with 'bands' since medieval times, so pairing it with 'hat' once hats became common headwear was less invention than inevitability.
- original purpose
- absorbed sweat before anyone invented deodorant
- idiom
- tight as a hatband means stingy, not snug
- status marker
- feathers and bands once signaled rank, not fashion