Antonyms for at the drop of a hat


Grammar : Adv
Spell : drop
Phonetic Transcription : drÉ’p


Definition of at the drop of a hat

Origin :
  • Old English dropa "a drop of liquid," from Proto-Germanic *drupon (cf. Old Saxon dropo, Old Norse dropi, Dutch drop, Old High German tropfo, German Tropfen (n.)), from PIE *dhreu-.
  • Meaning "an act of dropping" is from 1630s; of immaterial things (prices, temperatures, etc.) from mid-19c. Meaning "lozenge, hard candy" is 1723. Meaning "secret place where things can be left illicitly and picked up later" is from 1931.
  • Drop in the bucket (late 14c.) is from Isa. ix:15 [KJV]. At the drop of a hat "suddenly" is from 1854; drop-in "casual visit" is 1819; drop-kick is 1857. To get the drop on someone originally was Old West gunslinger slang (1869).
  • As in readily : adv quickly; effortlessly

Synonyms for at the drop of a hat

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019