(colloquial)beat or defeat (someone or something) completely; be of much higher quality or value than (someone or something). 'At is dialect for hat. A cocked hat was a type of three-cornered hat worn in the eighteenth century. It was made by folding the edge of the round hat worn in the seventeenth century into corners. The phrase first meant to change something completely and later to defeat someone or something completely. —SHSBC Binder 25 Approved Glossary