At the Drop of a Hat
What it means
Immediately and without needing any persuading, as though you had been waiting to go all along.
Where it comes from
The usual explanation is a dropped or swept hat used to start a race or a fight when a starting pistol was not to hand. The phrase is American, from the 1800s.
The puzzle it came from
At the Drop of a Hat was the answer to the Phrasicle of July 26, 2025. The clue read At the ____ of a ____, and the words came out of a grid where every neighbouring pair makes a two-word phrase.
Play today's Phrasicle Play the July 26, 2025 puzzle
Show the solved grid (this spoils the July 26, 2025 puzzle)
smoking
hot
pepper
spray
bottle
miso
soup
stock
market
research
dead
last
name
drop
ship
morning
sun
hat
trick
shot
Phrasicle: At the Drop of a Hat