10 Uses of "Hot"

In honor of the weather in Los Angeles this week, here are ten different ways Americans use the word "hot."

1. at a very high temperature; capable of burning

Wife: Be careful near the stove! It's hot. I just cooked something.

Husband: Thanks for the warning! I wouldn't want to burn myself.

2. at a temperature higher than normal

Mom: Your forehead is so hot!

Son: Does that mean I don't have to go to school?

Mom: With a fever like that, you have to go back to bed.

3. spicy

Mina: I love Thai food. I'm going to order "drunken noodles" very hot.

Tim: I can't eat anything too spicy. Can we order it medium?

4. intense emotion

Robert: Wow! Did you see Tina yell at that guy in the parking lot?

Michelle: Yeah! I didn't realize she had such a hot temper.

5. popular

Ingrid: Did you get Beyoncé tickets?

Todd: I couldn't. She's so hot right now, they sold out instantly.

6. causing a lot of new interest

George: How was Coachella?

Kimberly: It was amazing. And I saw the hottest band early Saturday afternoon. Everyone was talking about their performance the rest of the day. I think they're going to be huge in a couple years.

7. stolen

Jason: So Steve just called me from jail. He got arrested.

Karen: Really? What happened?

Jason: He was with a friend who was driving a hot car.

Karen: Did Steve know it was stolen?

Jason: I don't think so. Want to go with me to bail him out of jail?

8. attractive

Karla: Your trainer is so hot! He's gorgeous!

Hailey: Why do you think I've been coming to the gym so much lately?

9. attracted to

Hailey: Remember my trainer?

Karla: The gorgeous one? How could I forget?

Hailey: Turns out, he's hot for me too. We're going on a date tonight.

Karla: I'm so jealous! Have fun!

10. very good (often used with "not" in a negative way)

Nicole: How are you feeling?

Eric: Not so hot. I think I'm going to take today off work and go to the doctor.

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Cut (somebody) some slack

Context #1

Andrew: Last week’s assignment was due two days ago. Why haven’t you finished it yet?

Mia: Andrew, you know I’ve been having some personal problems. Please cut me some slack.

Andrew: There are no exceptions. If I cut you some slack, then everyone will want me to cut some slack for them. 

Mia: You’re so inflexible. I wish you would be more understanding.

Andrew: I would cut you some slack if you didn’t have a habit of turning assignments in late.

Context #2

Jeff: I’ve reported a student for using his phone during class time.

Michelle: Why can’t you cut the student some slack? Maybe the student had a legitimate emergency.

Jeff: He was checking facebook. How would the student benefit from me cutting him some slack?

Michelle: I guess there’s no excuse. You never cut anyone some slack sometimes though?

Jeff: Students get more than enough warnings before being reported. This student doesn’t deserve any slack. He does this daily.

Meaning: The expression "cut somebody some slack" means to give someone permission to do something not normally allowed or to be less strict about something (e.g. a policy or rule). In this example, Mia was upset that Andrew didn’t allow for additional time to finish her assignment. However, Andrew is unwilling to be more flexible because Mia has had a habit of turning things in late. So he is less willing to cut Mia some slack. In the second example, the teacher was upset that the student was focusing on his phone everyday and had been warned about the rules previously. The teacher didn’t think giving the student any more chances (cutting any slack) was of benefit to him or the student.

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