Hot Idioms
Hot has many meanings in the English language. It can mean high in temperature, popular, attractive, stolen, angry, lucky, in demand, or good depending on the context. There are also tons of hot idioms used in English. Here is a list of some of the most common.
If you blow hot and cold, you often change your mind or mood in opposite ways. You might be very interested in something one day but not at all interested the next day.
If you drop something like a hot potato, you stop doing it or give up on it suddenly without warning. It is usually done to avoid problems. You can also drop someone like a hot potato and not see them anymore.
A person who gets into hot water gets into trouble. This usually refers to being in trouble with people of authority.
A person who is very worried or anxious and cannot stay still can be described as being like a cat on a hot tin roof. This idiom is also said as like a cat on hot bricks.
Things that go like hotcakes or sell like hotcakes, are in high demand and sell very quickly.
A person who blows or talks hot air talks a lot of nonsense or straight out lies. They are not worth listening to.
If something is said to be hot, it can mean it is stolen or gained illegally. Without knowing, you might buy a hot secondhand TV for example.
A hot check (cheque) or hot paper is a check that cannot be used at a bank because it is fake, the account does not exist, or the funds are not available.
To hotfoot or hotfoot, it is to go somewhere or get out of somewhere as fast as you can, usually by foot.
A hothead is a person with a bad temper who gets angry very easily. This is one of the most common hot idioms used worldwide.
Let’s blow this hot dog stand is an expression used to suggest leaving a boring or uninteresting place and find somewhere better.
If you are hot on the tracks or hot on the trail of something or somebody you are close to finding or catching what you are looking for. It is also said as hot on the heels of something/someone.
A hot mess is something very disorganized, messy, or chaotic. It can be used to describe many things, from a person’s hair to a company’s finance.
If you are not very good at something, you can say you are not so hot at it. This is another one of the more common hot idioms.
A hotshot is a confident and successful person. This can also be used in a negative way to describe someone who is overly confident.
Something that is a hot ticket is very popular right now. It is the latest trend or is currently in vogue.
A person who is hot to trot is very excited or even impatient about starting or doing something.
If you are hot under the collar you are angry about something and showing that anger.
To make it hot for someone is to make them very uncomfortable, put them under pressure, or make their life difficult.
The expression more often than someone has had hot dinners is used to show a person has done something many more times than someone else. For example, a person who has travelled a lot might say to a lesser travelled person “I’ve been to Europe more times than you’ve had hot dinners.
If you slave over a hot stove you spend a lot of time and effort cooking and preparing a meal.
To strike while the iron is hot is to do something or take advantage of a situation while a good opportunity is there.
Something that is too hot to handle is very difficult or dangerous. It is so risky that nobody wants to deal with or get involved with the thing or situation.
News or information that is very recent can be described as hot off the press.
It wouldn’t cut hot butter is used to describe a knife that is very blunt or dull.
