Brass Hat

BRASS HAT. Also 'pointy hats', sometimes just 'hat'.

A slang term meaning anyone who wears a crown, coronet, or circlet. You will almost never encounter the term under formal circumstances, but it is one that some of the 'hats' use in a self-mocking sort of way: "My brass hat and $4.00 will get me a coffee at Starbuck's."

I learned the term originally from someone non-hatted, and then heard it from those with hats. I use the term myself sometimes. [The writer is a Peer and may therefore be considered a 'hat'.]

It's like anything else -- use language that is situation appropriate.