A lady rider "hot" on horseback

[Joel S. Berson]

At 11/24/2011 04:26 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>This appears to be the sole 19th C. ex. of "look hot on," acc. to GB.
>
>Peculiar.

But by book (OED), there is at least one other 19th c. example, the 1845.

Joel


>Peculiar.
>
>JL
>
>On Thu, Nov 24, 2011 at 12:41 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      A lady rider "hot" on horseback
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > What do the experts make of "hot" in a letter of Jane
> > Austen's?  (1805 April 8; see in GBooks "Jane Austen, her Life and
> > Letters", p. 130.)
> >
> > This morning we have been to see Miss Chamberlayne look hot on
> > horseback. Seven years and four months ago we went to the same
> > riding-house to see Miss Lefroy's performance! What a different set
> > are we now moving in!
> >
> > Hot, adj. and n. -- possibly:
> >
> > "8. Excited ... a. Of a person ... eager, keen"?  (In every century
> > from OE through 2007.)
> >
> > "12. Characterized by intensity or energy ... b. Of speed of movement
> > or action ... rapid, fast"?  (Earliest 1809.)
> >
> > "12. ... c.  colloq. (orig. U.S.) Extremely good ... very skilled,
> > knowledgeable, or successful. Also with _on_ and a specified subject
> > or activity."?  (Earliest 1845.)
> >
> > I vote for the last, and thus an antedating.  (And :-) another usage,
> > like "baseball," taken home from the U.S. to England by Austen.)
> >
> > Joel
> >
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>
>
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