In this American English pronunciation video, I'm going to complain about how hot it is
in New York.
Summer in New York is great for things like grilling. But it's also known for being hot,
hot, hot. Sometimes entirely too hot. We've had lots of days this month, July, that were
very hot. Over ninety. Not surprising. So, I'm going to teach you some idioms and some
creative ways to say "it's really hot!!"
Hot as Hades, or hot as hell. Now, be careful when using hell, it is a mild cuss word, but
it is considered a cuss word. So you don't want to say it in front of people that might
be offended. The T in 'hot' comes between two vowels here when we connect it to the
next word. So, that's going to be a flap T. Hot as, hot as. You'll notice I'm not saying
'as'. I'm reducing the AA vowel to the schwa. -duz, -duz, -duz, hot as, hot as. Hades begins
with the H consonant, has the 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong, Ha-, Ha-, then the D consonant,
ee vowel, Z sound. Hades, Hades. Stress on the first syllable, so that should have more
shape, whereas -des, -des, -des should be flatter and lower in pitch. Hot as Hades.
Or, hot as hell. Hell with the H consonant, the EH vowel, and the dark L. Hell, hell.
Now, being a stressed word, this syllable, this word should have some shape.
Hell, hell, hell. Hot as hell.
One phrase my Mom likes to use is 'hotter than blazes'. Hotter than blazes. So, the
word 'than' here is being reduced just to the N consonant sound: hottern, hottern, hottern.
Now the T in 'hot', turned into a flap T, or a D sound, because it's coming between
two vowels: hotter, hottern, hottern, hotter than blazes. Blazes with the BL consonant
cluster, the 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong, and the Z, I, Z: -zes, -zes, -zes. Hotter than blazes.
You can also say "it's a scorcher." Scorcher: with the SK consonant cluster, sk, sk. The
'aw' as in 'law' vowel followed by the R consonant, scor-, scor-, and the second, unstressed syllable,
the ch CH sound, schwa, R sound: -cher, -cher, -cher. Scorcher.
You can also say "it's so hot, you could fry an egg on the sidewalk." Should I try it?
I don't think I will. Just seems like it might be kind of messy.
There are also words you can use to show quantity. It's not just hot, it's really hot. Or you
can, it's ridiculously hot. Or, it's super hot. Or, in Boston / New England, you might
hear: it's wicked hot.
So, when it's the middle of July, and the end of summer seems very far away, and you're
already tired of the heat, you're lucky that you have these phrases that you can use that
are much more colorful than simply "it's hot" to express your frustration. It's hot as hell.
It's hotter than blazes. That's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.
It's hot as hell. It's hotter than blazes. Sirens are always ruining my take.
Don't stop there. Have fun with my real-life English videos. Or get more comfortable with
the IPA in this play list. Learn about the online courses I offer, or check out my latest
video.