molokern.
/məˈləʊkə/, U.S. /məˈloʊkər/ slang. Now rare. Perhaps Obsolete.
A cheap hat, spec. a renovated silk hat.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > made of specific material > silk > types of
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moloker1890
1890 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang II. 60/1 Molocher, a cheap hat.
1893 Westm. Gaz. 18 July 3/3 A good Molocker (Molocker, it appears, is the trade term for renovated old chapeaux).
1893 Westm. Gaz. 18 July 3/3 We came across one shop where Molockers were sold.
1906 Tit-Bits 21 Apr. 120/1 The man who takes your [old silk] hat away from your door sells it to a wholesale dealer in old hats, who promptly converts it into a ‘myloker’, or a hat for the second-hand market.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† molokerv.
slang. Obsolete. rare.
transitive. To renovate (a silk hat).
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > making headgear > make headgear [verb (transitive)] > make hats > repair or renovate
moloker1863
1863 G. A. Sala Breakfast in Bed v. 105 'Tis like an old hat that has been ‘molokered’, or ironed and greased into a simulacrum of its pristine freshness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
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n.1890v.1863