wear two hats

wear two hats (third-person singular simple present wears two hats, present participle wearing two hats, simple past wore two hats, past participle worn two hats)

1. To have two different roles.

   The policeman wore two hats, having an administrative role as well as patrolling the beat.

   Many a person wears two hats in daily life: friend and coworker, student and teacher, wife and mother, husband and father.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Noveria:

     Shepard: I wear a lot of hats, Mr. Vargas. Some days I shut down criminals. Some days I defuse nukes. Some days I like to enjoy private vices. You understand me?

• coinstantiate; factotum; alternative metaphors: bottlewasher; on one's plate; too many balls in the air