[00:09.885]Now,the VOA Special English program WORDS
[00:14.664]AND THEIR STORIES.
[00:18.129]Hot is a simple,easily understood word.
[00:24.284]So are most ofthe expressions made with
[00:28.242]the word hot.
[00:29.666]But not always,
[00:31.597]as we shall see.
[00:33.527]The words hot potato,for example,
[00:38.855]give you no idea at
[00:40.737]all to the meaning of the expression,
[00:43.224]hot potato.
[00:45.306]The potato is a popular vegetable in
[00:48.909]the United States
[00:51.143].Many people like baked potatoes,
[00:53.178]cooked in an oven
[00:55.108]or fire.Imagine trying to carry a hot,baked potato
[00:59.583]in your hand.It would be difficult,even painful,
[01:03.445]to do so.
[01:05.530]Now we are getting close to the meaning of hot potato.
[01:10.103]Some publicly disputed issues are highly emotional.
[01:16.708]The issues must be treated carefully,or they will
[01:22.193]be difficult and painful if an elected official
[01:24.935]has to deal with them.As difficult and painful
[01:29.726]as holding a hot potato.
[01:34.652]One such hot potato is taxes.
[01:39.474]Calling for higher taxes can mean defeat for
[01:43.86]a politician.And yet,if taxes are not raised,
[01:48.370]some very popular government programs could be cut.
[01:53.244]And that also can make a politician very unpopular.
[01:56.240]So the questions must be dealt with carefully,
[02:01.674]the same way you would handle any other hot potato.
[02:06.392]Another expression is not so hot.If you ask someone
[02:14.822]how she feels,she may answer"not so hot.
[02:20.405]"What she means is she does not feel well.
[02:24.112]Not so hot also is a way of saying that you do not
[02:27.872]really like something.You may tell a friend that
[02:32.695]the new play you saw last night is not so hot.
[02:37.60]That means you did not consider it a success.
[02:41.481]A hot shot is a person,often a young person,
[02:47.17]who thinks he can do anything.At least he wants to
[02:51.180]try.He is very sure he can succeed.But often
[02:55.904]he fails.The expression was born in the military
[03:00.525]forces.
[03:01.235]A hot shot was a soldier who fired without
[03:05.701]aiming carefully.
[03:07.72]Hot is a word that is often used to talk about anger.
[03:13.933]A person who becomes angry easily is called a hothead.
[03:20.88]An angry person's neck often becomes red.
[03:23.642]We say he is hot under the collar.You could
[03:28.220]say that your friend is no hothead.But he
[03:32.432]got hot under the collar when someone took his radio.
[03:37.55]In nineteen sixty-three,hot line appeared as a new
[03:43.298]expression.
[03:45.481]The hot line was a direct communications link between
[03:49.898]the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States.
[03:54.371]The hot line had an important purpose:to prevent
[03:57.974]accidental war between the two competitors during
[04:00.358]the period known as the Cold War.The American president
[04:06.406]and the Soviet leader were able to communicate
[04:09.248]directly and immediately on the hot line.This helped
[04:13.880]prevent any conflict during an international crisis.