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hot stuff

hot stuff

28 7.2
A person or thing that many people like and find exciting
  • noun
  • Informal
: lo último (de moda)
  • When I was twenty-three, I thought I was pretty hot stuff.
  • pretty hot stuff
  • think you're hot stuff
  • hot stuff, baby

I mean, they just think they're hot stuff, right?

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Examples

  • You think you're pretty hot stuff, huh?

  • I thought I was hot stuff.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • How about you, hot stuff?

  • I mean, this is hot stuff, huh?

  • You are hot stuff, lady.

  • In the last year, mommybloggers have become hot stuff.

    Blog text (32)
  • I'm not a beer lover, but my pals who are think it's pretty hot stuff.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • You're pretty hot stuff, Mr. Scudder, sir.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Billings was dull, and we felt like hot stuff around those hay farmers and cowboys.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Everyone at the party was talking about the new band; they were real hot stuff.

Synonyms

hottie
vshot stuff
  • Slang
67 9.5

A very good-looking person

focuses on wider appeal including popularity and impressiveness rather than just looks
hot shit
vshot stuff
  • Offensive
15 9.9

A rude word for a person or thing that is very impressive and popular

is similar but used more neutrally and less coarse
new hotness
vshot stuff
  • Slang
1 8.5

A thing that many people like and find exciting right now

covers general popularity not limited to the newest trends

Antonyms

792 1.0

Not interesting and making you feel tired or impatient

123 2.1

Most people do not like someone or something

42 1.8

Not pleasant to look at or to the senses

How Desirable

hot stuff
  • Informal
28 7.2
sensation
71 4.1
crowd favorite
  • US
2 3.5
liked
74 1.0

Surface Forms

hot stuff singular
hot stuffs plural

Morphology

hot + stuff

Given the provided constituent meanings ('hot' = highly sought/attractive; 'stuff' = things/qualities), the phrase is a straightforward composition: 'stuff' that is 'hot' => something popular, attractive or exciting. This pattern is semantically regular and likely inferable by a B1 learner who already knows the two words.

Etymology

The phrase hot stuff may come from the image of something just out of the oven—hot and wanted stuff that people rush to get. That's why the phrase is used to call someone or something 'very popular' or 'attractive'.