hook someone up • hook up with someone hook someone up—1. (coll.) establish an intimate relationship between two people; supply a person with a date: I’ve had some of the worst dates due to my friends trying to hook me up . 2. (Police) take a person into custody (reference being to the act of handcuffing): Tags on the car are expired, let’s go ahead and hook him up . Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase get one’s hooks into someone—(coll.) 1. get control or influence over a person: The rival VHS video format has really got its hooks into the American consumer. 2. (of a woman) try hard to gain the affections of a man (used showing disap- proval): Ramona jealously guards her current boyfriend so Vicki doesn’t get her hooks into him. hook up with someone—(coll., also: get hooked up with some- one) 1. meet smb. and spend time together: I was traveling alone, but then I hooked up with another woman about my age. 2. become romantically or sexually involved with a person: I was a freshman in high school and hooked up with this guy on the first day. hop it • hop to it hop it—(UK sl.) be off; move away quickly: “Are we going to stick it here?” said one. “Didn’t the sergeant say something about hopping it ?” hop to it—(U.S. coll.) start a job; do smth. immediately: If you finish your homework quickly you can watch TV tonight, so you’d better hop to it . horse-play • play the horses horse-play—rough or boisterous behavior, passing the bounds of propriety: Dryden’s best comic attempts were but heavy horse-play . play the horses—bet on horserace results: No wonder his wife is penniless; he is always playing the horses and losing his money. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase horse around—(also: horse about) behave in a rough and noisy manner: Shereth yelled at us to quit horsing around and finish up the car washing. horse tail • mare’s tail horse tail—(also: pony tail) a type of women’s hair style with hair drawn back, tied and hanging down: She wore jeans and a cotton sweater, her hair was in a horse-tail . mare’s tail—1. a tall slender marsh plant: This is an old pho- tograph of the submerged aquatic plant called mare’s-tail , Hip- puris vulgaris. 2. long straight streaks of cirrus cloud (known as a sign of impending storm): Cirrus clouds are characterized by thin, wisplike strands, often accompanied by tufts, leading to their name of “mare’s tail .” hot and cold • hot and hot hot and cold—short for “hot and cold water” (in a hotel, etc.): He’s working out that plan for laying on hot and cold . hot and hot—said of dishes served in succession as soon as cooked: Her potato cakes came in hot and hot from a pot- oven. hot-blooded • warm-blooded hot-blooded —easily excited or aroused emotionally: Presi- dent Kibaki is no hot-blooded youth bursting with combative political flames. warm-blooded —1. said of animals whose body temperature is internally regulated: The dinosaurs that nested at Egg Mountain were warm-blooded creatures. 2. (of people) eager or enthusiastic enough: There was once a time—believe it or not—when companies actually had warm-blooded people on their payroll… hot dog • sausage dog hot dog—1. a frankfurter or wiener in a bun with any of various toppings: The boys stopped on the way home for hot dogs and coffee. 2. (sl., also: hot-dogger) a person who per- forms showy, often dangerous stunts in a sport: She was a hot dog behind the wheel, screeching her wheels at every turn. 3. (exclam.) is used to express excitement and delight (also: hot diggety dog): “Look, here’s the check! We’re rich!” “Hot dog !” sausage dog1. a variety of “hot dog” sausage: I stare point- edly at them and take another bite of my sausage dog …. 2. (coll.) a dachshund (a dog with long body and very short legs): In England, the dachshund is often called a sausage dog , or a wiener dog in America. hot goods • hot stuff hot goods —(sl.) stolen products or items obtained illegally: My canoe has never been pulled over by the police for illegal transportation of “hot goods .” hot stuff—(sl.) 1. a person or thing that is very popular or exciting: Although “Dancin’ Shoes” is second-rate, the rest of the album is hot stuff . 2. a very sexy person: I think she is definitely around 400 pounds now. She thinks she is hot stuff also dressed up in her tight suits.” hot line • hot wire hot line—1. direct line of communication between heads of governments: President Richard Nixon also used the hot line during tensions between India and Pakistan in 1971. 2. a direct telephone communication channel; an emergency tele- phone counseling service: Your relatives are welcome to use our hot line to learn about the patients’ state. Cf.: warm line telephone service designed to solve relatively minor problems: Organizers call it a “warm line ” instead of a hot line because it’s a place where teens call long before it’s a life-or-death sit- uation. hot wire—part of electrical instruments whose resistance changes with changing temperature: The turbulence data were measured inside the jet stream by the use of hot wire equip- ment. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the verbal phrase hot wire—start a car without a key: Lefty hot wired the car and used it for an hour or two. hot seat • hot seating hot seat—1. (coll., also: hot chair) an uncomfortable position of authority where one has to make difficult decisions: I am now sitting in this hot seat as a film critic whose job it is to analyze a film. 2. (Air Force) an ejection seat in an aircraft: McClane was able to press the ejection switch of a hot seat just in time to escape from an exploding plane. 3. (sl., also: hot chair) the electric chair: A newspaper reporter said he heard the lad announce that he was not afraid to die “in the hot seat .” hot seating —1. sharing of desks or equipment by office shift workers, etc.: In these schools, double shifts, known as “hot- seating ,” are the norm. 2. (role-playing technique) pretending to be a literary character and answering the relevant questions in the “hot seat”: Hot seating is a way of finding out more about the characters in stories, plays, or poems. hot-water bottle • water bottle hot-water bottle —a rubber container of hot water, used to warm a bed, etc.: I would have a fire and an india-rubber hot- water bottle , and I would lie and sleep. water bottle —a (plastic) bottle for holding drinking water, carried by hikers, etc.: He held out the tiny glass, and I half filled it from the water bottle . – 181 – hot-water bottle