I read a news starts with the saying "It's getting very hot in the hot tub for Senate Republicans at the moment." I understand that it says the topic is very hot, but why say "very hot in the hot tub". why use "in the hot tub"? There are lots of thing. Why it should be "hot tub"? why not use "hot water/ soup /pot"? Is there any story about "hot tub"?
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2Are you really asking why a reporter wrote one trope instead of another? That is essentially unknowable unless you ask the writer.– RobustoCommented Feb 26, 2019 at 18:52
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Do you know what a "hot tub" is??– Hot LicksCommented Feb 26, 2019 at 18:56
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1A hot tub is a place where people who share a certain degree of camaraderie gather. Thus, if the Senate Republicans' unity is being stressed by political developments, one might say that the hot tub they share is becoming "too hot" i.e., uncomfortable for at least some of them.– remarklCommented Feb 26, 2019 at 19:26
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1 Answer
The writer is likely referring to the 1983 Saturday Night Live sketch "James Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub Party," starring Eddie Murphy, which uses "too hot in the hot tub". It's often played on "best-of" compilations and would be familiar to any SNL watcher or anyone familiar with 1980s American pop culture. The content of the sketch isn't relevant to the article; the reference is only to the catchphrase.
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The writer may have recalled this sketch, but knowing of it is not at all necessary for an understanding of the usage. (In fact, I'm guessing that the SNL sketch was playing on the theme of a movie of the time (whose name I cannot recall).) Commented Feb 26, 2019 at 23:33
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The question makes it clear that any aspect of the history of the phrase is requested, not assistance in understanding ("I understand that it says the topic is very hot"). When you remember the name of the earlier source, why not mention it and make a case for it as the key reference in a separate answer? Commented Feb 27, 2019 at 2:13
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Clearly the OP did not understand what a "hot tub" is, at least not in it's sense of it being a place for socializing. This understanding is critical to understanding the usage. Commented Feb 28, 2019 at 13:23