cap in hand
advEtymology From the act of removing one's headwear as a sign of respect or submission. Attested from the 19th century.
1
Idiomatic In a humble and respectful manner.
- No longer were we required to go cap in hand to the banks if we wanted money: they were coming to us.
- He has also been good enough to recommend to me many tradesmen who are ready to supply these articles in any quantities; each of whom has been here already a dozen times, cap in hand, and vowing that it is quite immaterial when I pay—which is very kind of them; […]1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], chapter 1, in Tom Brown at Oxford: […], (please specify |part=1 or 2), Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC:
2 more examples
- But with income from fares largely wiped out, it has come at a price. TfL had to go cap-in-hand to central Government for money. In doing so, it had to agree to changes - interference, if you prefer that choice of word - that it previously would have resisted.2020 July 15, Mike Brown talks to Paul Clifton, “Leading London's "hidden heroes"”, in Rail, page 42:
- The notion that London will go cap in hand for a bailout too big for the IMF to deliver is absurd.2022 October 5, Yanis Varoufakis, “Is This the End of ‘Socialism for the Rich’?”, in The Atlantic, retrieved 15 Oct 2022:
- Synonyms
- hat in hand
- Related terms
- doff, doff one's hat to, poormouth