Hat tip Information & Hat tip Links at HealthHaven.com

A tip o' the hat (US President Calvin Coolidge, 1924).

A hat tip, or doff (British English), is a cultural expression of recognition, respect, gratitude, greeting, or simple salutation and acknowledgement between two persons.

In Western societies of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a doff or hat tip was a common non-verbal greeting between friends or acquaintances while walking on a sidewalk or meeting at a social gathering. Typically, two men (feminine hat tipping was rare) would lift or tip their hats to each other, rather than exchange words of greeting. Where the ritual was used to emphasize social distance, the subordinate was obliged to make the more elaborate gesture, for example fully removing his hat while the superior merely touched his. The military hand salute is thought to have originated as a stylized hat tip.

In the 2000s, the term "hat tip" (often abbreviated to "HT") rose to prominence in the blogosphere to acknowledge someone who has made a significant contribution toward an effort, or someone who drew attention to something new or interesting. The on-line versions of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times regularly give hat tips to users who bring ideas for articles to their attention.

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