set (one's) cap for (someone)
set (one's) cap for (someone)
dated To try to attract, secure, or win someone as a romantic partner or spouse. Said especially (though not exclusively) of a woman in pursuit of a bachelor. Well, if he insists on remaining so inhospitable, then I shall simply set my cap for a man with a greater sense of charm and decency. The ladies of this town shall all be setting their caps for Mr. Rutherford, now that his inheritance has left him quite wealthy. Don't you find it rather unseemly for a man of his age and station to set his cap for a girl who's barely of voting age?
See also: cap, set
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
set one's cap for
Pursue someone romantically, as in We all thought Anne had set her cap for Joe, but we were wrong. In the 1700s this term, which may have alluded to donning one's best headgear, was applied to members of either sex, but by the early 1800s it generally described a woman chasing a man. It is probably obsolescent.
See also: cap, set
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
set (one's) cap for
To attempt to attract and win as a mate.
See also: cap, set
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
- set (one's) cap at (someone)
- set cap for
- set her cap
- set one's cap for
- set your cap at
- set your cap at someone
- play away from home
- drive (one) back to (someone)
- drive back to
- your other half