hot dog

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>      One gap I still have in the research is to explain "hot dog" in
>reference to a show-off. I've looked at this a bit but still don't
>feel comfortable with what I have. I know that "hot dog" (show off)
>is apparently traceable to the  hot-dog surf board but am not clear
>just why "hot dog" was applied to this  board.

A glance at

http://www.surfresearch.com.au/aga.html

shows "hot dog (board)" = "sausage (board)", apparently one with rounded
front and back ends, if I'm reading this correctly, presumably one which
looks like a sausage, I guess. I wouldn't bet my life savings on the
reliability of a Web site, but there are references given, including a
'dictionary' by Trevor Cralle.

My ad-hoc guess would have been that "hot dog" = "showoff" < "hot dog" =
"hot/stylish/flamboyant guy" from pre-1900, but maybe I've been deluded.

-- Doug Wilson