Discussion of 别扣大帽子/別扣大帽子 [bié kòu dà mào zi] do not tag sb. with a big unfair label - Trainchinese

1 - It means do not tag somebody with a big unfair label. For example, here in China, a man bought a Nissan. His friends can say (possibly half-jokingly) that he is “not patriotic“ for doing so, since that car is Japanese. This accusation “not patriotic“ is 大帽子 in this case. 扣大帽子 is originated from the cultural revolution, during which time, people were put on big tall hats and paraded on the streets to demonstrate their so-called crimes. Nowadays, this phrase is usually used to refer to something not good.

此意指勿将重大不公之标签强加于他人。例如，在我国，若有人购买了一辆尼桑汽车，其友人或许半开玩笑地称其‘非爱国’，因该汽车源自日本。在此情境中，‘非爱国’这一指控即所谓之大帽子。扣大帽子一词源于文化大革命时期，彼时人们被戴上高大的帽子，游行于街头以示其所谓罪行。今时今日，此语通常用以指代不良之事。