is a phrase that has come to mean being discreet, being careful about not spreading gossip, keeping what's in your head to yourself. It doesn't appear to have a negative connotation, and in this age where it is becoming more and more common to experience public confessions of all sorts of life experiences, from the daily diaries of prime ministers who tell us how much wine they drink at dinner to the hourly announcements on social networking sites that can contain what my daughters call TMI (too much information, Mom!), I'm beginning to think that more people might wear hats and remember their symbolism as they do so. As I thought about the hat I found many other hat expressions leaping into my mind: at the drop of a hat, hang on to your hat, talking through your hat, old hat, pass the hat etc. Soon, in the northern hemisphere, we shall have to think of taking down our wintry hats and caps to cover our ears as we brave the winds and cold weather. Our Australian friends, no mean hat-wearers themselves, can afford to smile as they enter their summery hat period.