hot mess

English

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /ˌhɑt ˈmɛs/

Noun

hot mess (uncountable)

1. (military) A warm meal, usually cooked in a large pot, often similar to a stew or porridge; or, service of such a heated meal to soldiers.
   • 1856, Frederick Marryat, Snarleyyow, or the Dog Fiend, page 10

     "Smallbones," said the lieutenant, after trying the hot mess before him, and finding that he was still in danger of burning his mouth, "bring me the red-herring."

   • 1919, James Thayer Addison, The Story of the First Gas Regiment, page 150

     I heard several of the enlisted men make the statement that Company C had provided hot mess for fully a thousand men of other units during the second day of the recent drive in and around Cheppy and Charpentry.

   • 1974, Langdon Sully, No Tears for the General: The Life of Alfred Sully, 1821-1879, page 119

     He provided for a hot mess and he got the men up off the floor with improvised bunks.

   • 1980, William Manchester, Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War, page 260

     The men there would have settled for a Coleman stove and a hot-mess line, but the greatest contribution to their spirits, plus or minus, was mail call.

2. (slang, idiomatic, chiefly Southern US) A person, thing, or situation in such a state of disarray or disapproval by peers, often in reference to physical appearance, perceived to be disastrously embarrassing, pitiful, or beyond repair.
   • 2003, Karyn Bosnak, Save Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back, page 271

     My hair had two months of roots exposed. My brows were overgrown. I was a hot mess. And I was fat.

   • 2005, Ayana D. Byrd & Akiba Solomon, Naked: Black Women Bare All about Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips, and Other Parts, page 95

     Weave tracks askew, postpregnancy bellies pushing dollar-store seams, they look a hot mess.

   • 2005, Desiree Day, Crazy Love, page 72

     "Girl, you're a hot mess, but we're cool," she assured her, but her next words were a warning. "But you really need to stop blurting out the first thing that comes to your mind..."

   • 2006, Laura Lippman, Baltimore Noir, page 173

     "Yeah. Two of her tips were broken off... Her nails were her calling card and there is no way she'd be at a hair show with them looking a hot mess like that."

   • 2007, Carl Weber & Mary Morrison, She Ain't the One, page 162

     She looked a hot mess, with bloodshot red eyes and mascara running down her face.

Translations

Translations

Spanish: lío (es) m., enredamiento (es) m.