# Okay, what's a "hot mess"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802 "2010-07-24T02:51:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/1 "2010-07-24T02:51:25Z")
Puke? Dogshit? Semen all the walls? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/2 "2010-07-24T02:53:51Z")
> **[Celebrity Gossip and Entertainment News Photos and Video - Entertainment News...](https://x17online.com/celebrities/lindsay_lohan/how_low_can_lindsay_go-07242009.php)** > > Breaking the biggest stories in celebrity and entertainment news. Get exclusive latest stories, photos, and video as only X17 news media organization can report. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/3 "2010-07-24T03:22:50Z")
Hmm, is Lindsay a hot mess because she is hot and in a mess, or is it hot because it is a particularly nasty mess? ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/4 "2010-07-24T04:21:55Z")
First place I heard the term was on Clean House, used by Niecy Nash in describing the messy conditions of various houses. I assumed it was a Southernism, or at least a Niecyism. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/5 "2010-07-24T10:36:33Z")
It’s black slang meaning “really, really ugly, nasty, or disturbing”. As in, “Did you see that girl’s hair? It was a hot mess!” Or “That drunk fool at the bar was nothing but a hot mess!” Personally I like writing it as “hotmess”. Seems to up the “bad” factor when I do that. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/6 "2010-07-24T14:29:03Z")
[http://latenightmistakes.com/](http://latenightmistakes.com/) You may have to go through a couple of pages before you see a hot mess. They’re well-labeled so you can’t miss 'em. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/7 "2010-07-24T15:14:46Z")
As above, unless you came across the term in an older military memoir, where a hot mess is just a hot meal. Compare “mess kit” or “mess hall.” ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/8 "2010-07-24T15:16:00Z")
> [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > Puke? > > Dogshit? > > Semen all the walls? Was someone watching Wife Swap last night? As it was my first encounter with the term as well. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/9 "2010-07-24T15:28:56Z")
You’ve never heard of a hot mess before? Weird, it’s a pretty common expression everywhere I’ve been. Urban Dictionary has a [couple of good explanations](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hot%20mess). ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/10 "2010-07-25T09:50:19Z")
> [@Disheavel](#): > > Was someone watching Wife Swap last night? As it was my first encounter with the term as well. Yep. And I’m still lost. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/11 "2010-07-25T19:28:09Z")
To me a hot mess is a state of messiness that took extra effort to achieve. When you walk outside on a windy day your hair might be a mess. If you have jacked up color and did some damage with a crimping iron, that’s a hot mess. It implies an element of too-muchness to me. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/12 "2010-07-25T20:09:38Z")
> [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > Puke? > > Dogshit? > > Semen all the walls? > [@njtt](#): > > Hmm, is Lindsay a hot mess because she is hot and in a mess, or is it hot because it is a particularly nasty mess? It’s an idiom, so it’s not going to make a huge amount of sense taken literally. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/13 "2010-07-25T21:00:54Z")
I assumed it was the same in meaning as “a steaming pile of shit,” since it’s not unusual to refer to dog shit as “dog mess.” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/14 "2010-07-25T21:05:19Z")
Now, shall we address the etymology of “hot tranny mess”? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/15 "2010-07-26T19:24:31Z")
I always took it as meaning a sexy or attractive person (usually a woman) whose personal life is a mess. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/16 "2010-07-26T19:31:51Z")
As one of the Urban Dictionary definitions indicates, in fashion it can be a positive thing – someone whose appearance is disheveled in some way, but still looks attractive, for example, hair that is beautiful even though it hasn’t been combed or styled, or clothing and jewelry that is thrown on in casual disarray but comes out looking good. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/17 "2010-07-26T22:11:12Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > You’ve never heard of a hot mess before? Weird, it’s a pretty common expression everywhere I’ve been. Urban Dictionary has a [couple of good explanations](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hot%20mess). My wife and I never heard it in Texas (where we were raised) or in California (where we lived for a few years). But here in Indianapolis we hear it frequently, and not just from black people. ---
**Author:** ![Nursey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@Nursey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nursey)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/18 "2013-11-27T01:20:15Z")
Hot mess is a term for some situation or a person that is either beyond repair, or requires intense cleanup…synonymous with the spillage of pancake syrup and grease onto a surface such as cardboard after it has dried. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/19 "2013-11-27T15:44:48Z")
I assumed it was … > [@Ace309](#): > > I assumed it was the same in meaning as “a steaming pile of shit,” since it’s not unusual to refer to dog shit as “dog mess.” Aw, man. Ninja’d. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802/20 "2013-11-27T15:53:05Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Personally I like writing it as “hotmess”. Seems to up the “bad” factor when I do that. I disagree: writing it like that turns a spondee into a trochee, which doesn’t really work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-whats-a-hot-mess/547802.md?page=2)