Many people incorrectly assume the term “ten gallon hat” refers to the amount of water that will fit in the crown of a big hat, but the term more likely a corruption of the Spanish phrase “tan galón,” which means “so gallant.” When English speakers would ask a vaquero what kind of hat he was wearing, the vaquero would proudly reply, a sombrero “tan galón.” In the early 1920s someone either misheard, or sarcastically mangled, tan galón into ten gallon.
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