The origin of the phrase tanto di cappello, which equates to the English idiomatic expression hats off, can be traced back to the old custom of removing one’s hat as a sign of respect or courtesy.
tanto di cappello
hats off
Cappello means hat, and tanto, in this case, is being used emphatically to mean a lot of. In other words, it literally means “a lot of hat.”
Ti sei laureato con il massimo dei voti: tanto di cappello!
You graduated with top marks: hats off!
Fare tanto di cappello a qualcuno is the longer version of the idiom, meaning “to take one’s hat off to someone.”
Another expression you will often hear in Italian is Chapeau! which is the French word for hat, and the equivalent expression in the French language as well.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
