hotfoot
hotfoot Lexical Profile
hotfoot Game Scores & Validity
• adverb
In great haste; with eager or urgent speed.
"The reporters traveled hotfoot to the capital as soon as the election results were announced."
• verb
To hurry or run eagerly and quickly (usually followed by 'it').
"As soon as the lecture ended, we had to hotfoot it across campus to catch the last bus."
• noun
North American A practical joke in which a match is surreptitiously wedged into the seam of an unsuspecting person's shoe and lit.
"The pranksters tried to give their sleeping counselor a hotfoot at summer camp."
Word Nuance & Usage
When used as a verb meaning to hurry, 'hotfoot' is almost always followed by the pronoun 'it' (e.g., 'to hotfoot it across town').
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Originated in Middle English from the adverbial phrase 'in hot foot', alluding to the heat generated in a runner's feet during rapid movement. The prank sense emerged in Early 20th-century American slang.