Hat tip

In Western societies of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a hat tip was a common non-verbal greeting between friends or acquaintances while walking or meeting at a social gathering.

[citation needed] Erving Goffman emphasized the role of hat-tipping as a means of closing encounters between male and female, and restoring both parties thereby to a state of civil inattention.

In the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the government banned hat tipping toward Jews and other courtesies that became popular as protests against the occupation by Nazi Germany.

[citation needed] In the 2000s, the term "hat tip" (often abbreviated to "HT", "H/T" or "h/t"[6]) rose to prominence in the blogosphere to acknowledge someone who has made a significant contribution toward an effort, or someone who drew attention to something new or interesting.

[7] The on-line versions of the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times regularly give hat tips to users who bring ideas for articles to their attention.