[00:00.10](MUSIC)
[00:09.39]Now, the VOA Special English program
[00:13.72]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
[00:17.00]Every language has its own
[00:21.52]special words and expressions.
[00:24.71]And a story can be told
[00:27.46]about each of them.
[00:29.73]Hot is a simple,
[00:33.02]easily understood word.
[00:35.54]So are most of the expressions
[00:39.19]made with the word hot.
[00:41.51]But not always,
[00:43.63]as we shall see.
[00:45.61]The words hot potato,
[00:49.74]for example,
[00:50.78]give you no idea at all
[00:53.34]to the meaning of
[00:54.77]the expression, hot potato.
[00:57.80]The potato is a
[00:59.68]popular vegetable
[01:01.32]in the United States.
[01:03.23]Many people like
[01:04.88]baked potatoes, cooked
[01:06.22]in an oven or fire.
[01:09.10]Imagine trying to carry a hot,
[01:12.09]baked potato in your hand.
[01:14.01]It would be difficult,
[01:15.90]even painful, to do so.
[01:19.14]Now we are getting close
[01:21.50]to the meaning of hot potato.
[01:24.24]Some publicly disputed issues
[01:29.81]are highly emotional.
[01:32.00]The issues must
[01:33.82]be treated carefully,
[01:35.21]or they will be difficult
[01:37.23]and painful if an elected official
[01:39.76]has to deal with them.
[01:41.37]As difficult and painful
[01:44.48]as holding a hot potato.
[01:47.69]One such hot potato is taxes.
[01:52.32]Calling for higher taxes
[01:54.99]can mean defeat for a politician.
[01:57.70]And yet, if taxes are not raised,
[02:01.27]some very popular government
[02:03.98]programs could be cut.
[02:06.34]And that also can make
[02:08.63]a politician very unpopular.
[02:11.25]So the questions must
[02:14.05]be dealt with carefully,
[02:16.14]the same way you would
[02:18.43]handle any other hot potato.
[02:21.52]Another expression is not so hot.
[02:26.54]If you ask someone
[02:28.63]how she feels,
[02:30.32]she may answer "not so hot."
[02:33.83]What she means is
[02:35.13]she does not feel well.
[02:37.03]Not so hot also is a way of saying
[02:40.57]that you do not really like something.
[02:43.56]You may tell a friend
[02:45.55]that the new play you saw
[02:47.69]last night is not so hot.
[02:49.99]That means you did not
[02:52.33]consider it a success.
[02:54.48]A hot shot is a person,
[02:57.87]often a young person,
[02:59.76]who thinks he can do anything.
[03:02.21]At least he wants to try.
[03:05.10]He is very sure he can succeed.
[03:08.48]But often he fails.
[03:10.57]The expression was born
[03:13.11]in the military forces.
[03:15.17]A hot shot was a soldier
[03:18.13]who fired without aiming carefully.
[03:20.64]Hot is a word that is often
[03:24.43]used to talk about anger.
[03:26.38]A person who becomes angry easily
[03:30.22]is called a hothead.
[03:32.57]An angry person's neck
[03:34.86]often becomes red.
[03:36.90]We say he is hot under the collar.
[03:40.25]You could say
[03:42.09]that your friend is no hothead.
[03:44.48]But he got hot under the collar
[03:47.02]when someone took his radio.
[03:49.52]In nineteen sixty-three,
[03:53.40]hot line appeared
[03:55.95]as a new expression.
[03:57.64]The hot line was a direct
[04:00.77]communications link
[04:02.26]between the leaders of
[04:03.55]the Soviet Union
[04:04.64]and the United States.
[04:06.66]The hot line had an important purpose:
[04:09.78]to prevent accidental war
[04:12.02]between the two competitors
[04:13.92]during the period known
[04:15.71]as the Cold War.
[04:17.40]The American president
[04:19.54]and the Soviet leader were able
[04:21.63]to communicate directly
[04:22.98]and immediately on the hot line.
[04:25.73]This helped prevent any conflict
[04:28.52]during an international crisis.
[04:31.61](MUSIC)
[04:38.76]You have been listening
[04:40.67]to the VOA Special English program,
[04:43.31]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
[04:46.05]Our program was written
[04:48.09]by Marilyn Rice Christiano.
[04:50.38]I'm Warren Scheer.

(MUSIC)
Now, the VOA Special English program
WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
Every language has its own
special words and expressions.
And a story can be told
about each of them.
Hot is a simple,
easily understood word.
So are most of the expressions
made with the word hot.
But not always,
as we shall see.
The words hot potato,
for example,
give you no idea at all
to the meaning of
the expression, hot potato.
The potato is a
popular vegetable
in the United States.
Many people like
baked potatoes, cooked
in an oven or fire.
Imagine trying to carry a hot,
baked potato in your hand.
It would be difficult,
even painful, to do so.
Now we are getting close
to the meaning of hot potato.
Some publicly disputed issues
are highly emotional.
The issues must
be treated carefully,
or they will be difficult
and painful if an elected official
has to deal with them.
As difficult and painful
as holding a hot potato.
One such hot potato is taxes.
Calling for higher taxes
can mean defeat for a politician.
And yet, if taxes are not raised,
some very popular government
programs could be cut.
And that also can make
a politician very unpopular.
So the questions must
be dealt with carefully,
the same way you would
handle any other hot potato.
Another expression is not so hot.
If you ask someone
how she feels,
she may answer "not so hot."
What she means is
she does not feel well.
Not so hot also is a way of saying
that you do not really like something.
You may tell a friend
that the new play you saw
last night is not so hot.
That means you did not
consider it a success.
A hot shot is a person,
often a young person,
who thinks he can do anything.
At least he wants to try.
He is very sure he can succeed.
But often he fails.
The expression was born
in the military forces.
A hot shot was a soldier
who fired without aiming carefully.
Hot is a word that is often
used to talk about anger.
A person who becomes angry easily
is called a hothead.
An angry person's neck
often becomes red.
We say he is hot under the collar.
You could say
that your friend is no hothead.
But he got hot under the collar
when someone took his radio.
In nineteen sixty-three,
hot line appeared
as a new expression.
The hot line was a direct
communications link
between the leaders of
the Soviet Union
and the United States.
The hot line had an important purpose:
to prevent accidental war
between the two competitors
during the period known
as the Cold War.
The American president
and the Soviet leader were able
to communicate directly
and immediately on the hot line.
This helped prevent any conflict
during an international crisis.
(MUSIC)
You have been listening
to the VOA Special English program,
WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
Our program was written
by Marilyn Rice Christiano.
I'm Warren Scheer.