THE TERM BLOCKHEAD
About the end of the eighteenth century, hats, as well as boots and coats, were made to order, each town had its shoemaker, and each customer had a last for his shoe and a block for his hat, from which originated the term “blockhead.” Another custom, that of men lifting their hats as an act of courtesy, originated from the medieval custom of removing one’s helmet as evidence of friendly intent.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAITA19380820.2.7
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Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 August 1938, Page 2
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74THE TERM BLOCKHEAD Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 August 1938, Page 2
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