A feather in your cap
This article is about the English idiom. For the symbolism surrounding the giving of a white feather, see White feather.
Crow’s Heart; a Mandan warriorThe term a feather in your cap is an English idiomatic phrase believed to have derived from the general custom in some cultures, of a warrior adding a new feather to their head-gear for every enemy slain,[1][2] or in other cases from the custom of establishing the success of a hunter as being the first to bag a game bird by the plucking of the feathers of that prey and placing them in the hat band.[3][1] The phrase today has altered to a more peaceful allusion, where it is used to refer to any laudable success or achievement by an individual that may help that person in the future.[4]