A Word A Day — hotdog
Good evening, Netizens...
- hotdog
-
- \HAHT-dawg\
- DEFINITION
verb
- EXAMPLES
The wide receiver hotdogged in the end zone after catching the touchdown pass.
"Benson hotdogged with her usual flair..." — From Matt Warshaw's 2010 book The History of Surfing
- DID YOU KNOW?
The verb "hotdog" first appeared in the 1960s as slang for surfing with fast turns and quick movements. Surfers adopted it from the use of the noun "hot dog" for someone who is very good at something, which was popularized around the turn of the 19th century along with the interjection "hot dog" to express approval or gratification. In time, the noun became mainly associated with people who showed off their skills in sports, from basketball to skiing, and the verb form came to be used for the spectacular acts of these show-offs. (As a side tidbit to chew on, the word for the frankfurter that might be eaten while watching athletes perform is believed to have been first used by college students. That "hot dog" was current at Yale in 1895.).