It’s HOT!

Interesting that the word “hot” has many positive meanings: “trendy,” as in the latest, greatest fashion or places to go; positive personal looks, as in “you look hot;” and being passionate, enthusiastic, or eager, as in being hot to do something.

It also has a negative connotation to mean that someone is upset or angry – “He’s hot under the collar.” “Don’t bother him; he’s hot right now.” Why? When we are upset, we generally have an increase of blood pressure, which leads to redness and heat. Ah . . . finally, I get to temperature . . .

“Hot” may (to many people) have a negative meaning to describe the incredibly hot weather our country has experienced these past weeks. You may all feel free to pause for laughter here because you know how much I HATE being cold. Haha. So, I refuse to say that I am TOO warm in 95-degree temperatures with over 50 percent humidity, but . . . check out this link to results of Florida heat (http://digitaledition.orlandosentinel.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=a29b33e9-875b-4472-8f12-1a8386a706ca)

You also know that once I start thinking of a word, I start thinking of the many versions of that word, mostly to help my ESL students understand the nuances of our American English language, but I also like think about words. So, I decided to discuss the following versions of “hot,” including a few “expressions” (of course 😉).)

Thinking that the implication of the word, hot, might be TOO hot for some people, so . . . what about warm? A lot of people are moving to Florida (and Phoenix and Nevada and California) because the temperature there is “warm.”

What about “toasty”? Not hot, but . . . what? I think of toasty as “cozy” warm, like a room with a fire going on a cold winter day. A comfortable warmth.

And then there is “tepid.” Tepid is not warm, but not cold. Nor cool. Certainly not icy, but . . .

And then there is “lukewarm”. Who decided to attach a guy’s name to the word, “warm”, by the way? Poor Luke. What does lukewarm mean? According to Merriam Webster, lukewarm is “moderately warm” (synonym = tepid). That’s why that word is used to describe nouns, as in “She received a lukewarm reception when she was introduced.” Equivalent phrases would be “so-so,” or “meh.” Not hot, not cold. Not “just right” (per Cinderella trying the bears’ porridge). If you were graphing this word on a temperature scale, it would be just slightly to the hot side.

Our language can be so complicated. But I think that we all would agree that the weather over these past several weeks has not been tepid, warm, or toasty, but it has been HOT! ☺

9 thoughts on “It’s HOT!”

  1. Ohhh yes finally some relief coming but there for a few weeks I didn’t feel like there was ANYTHING worth going outside for while the sun was still out

    Reply
  2. I’m with you on the love being Florida hot…which to me is temperate, tropical. How about our Miami Dolphins coach when the opponent is melting on the sideline with his t-shirt reflex ring his fave saying: I which it were hotter! Coco is saying the same at the US Open… She’s coming in hot!!

    Reply
  3. Yeah, gotta love a south Florida coach who teases opponents, although they may do the same if the Dolphins have to play against them in snow or sleet! And you are right about Coco – fingers crossed for the final!
    And, Cindi, I forgot about “temperate” and “tropical”! Thanks for those additional synonyms! Speaking of synonyms, also thank you for that funny post about a truck spilling a bunch of Roget Thesaurus books on the highway. I decided to keep with that theme and come up with some words that might describe how Ryan felt, per his comment (Ryan, what do you think?) – would lethargic, torpid, or sluggish work?
    I learned a new word doing that. When I looked up sluggish, I found “hebetudinous.” What??? I had never heard of it! Latin for “dull.” HAHA! So many possibilities . . .

    Reply
  4. Close. Hebetudinous is pronounced “heh, beh, too, dih, nus.” (Whew, is that how one would spell these syllables?). I’d better study the dictionary more.
    We can’t wait to hear the results of your pulling out this word for your friends – I hope they stay friends! 😉
    Speaking of pronunciations and spellings, I learn my spellings of expressions like “uh” and “whew” from comic strips.
    I’m sensing a future blog post . . .

    Reply
  5. There’s no separate word for foods being spicy-hot or temperature-hot. And food can get warm or cold, but we don’t really have a word for non spicy. Bland? Easy? I’m not sure.

    Reply
    • Hey, Adam
      How interesting about the use of hot / cold / spicy for food! How about this thought? Your comment made me think about when we ask someone to “warm” some food or beverage. Do I want my coffee to be “warmed” up? Or do I really want it to be hot? Why don’t we just say “heat” up?
      Speaking of “up,” I have a future blog post about “up.”

      Reply

Leave a Comment