bell-topper

English

Etymology

From bell, referring to its shape + topper (“top hat”).

Noun

bell-topper (plural bell-toppers)

1. (chiefly Australia, dated) top hat; chimney-pot hat
   • 1903, William Craig (of Invercargill, N.Z.), My Adventures on the Australian Goldfields (page 11)

     “Now, you long ghost with the bell-topper, what did you pay for that coat? It's a Houndsditcher!” The sally was greeted with laughter from all who heard it.

   • 1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, page 132:

     There was a surprise awaiting them at Tooraloo, for the moment they arrived two persons in bell-toppers and long-tailed coats ran out from behind a fence[.]