# What does "hotly used" mean?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-hotly-used-mean/786759>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 16, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-hotly-used-mean/786759 "2017-05-16T15:51:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-hotly-used-mean/786759/1 "2017-05-16T15:51:06Z")

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I was looking for an XBox One on Craigslist and found one relatively cheap, but both the title and text of the ad say the console was “hotly used” (so I assume it’s not a typo).

Unfortunately, googling didn’t help much - I either found the phrase repeated in ads for other electronics (iPhones, washing machines, etc.) or got results that show the word “hotly” used in a sentence.

So what does “hotly used” mean in this context?

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-hotly-used-mean/786759/2 "2017-05-16T16:29:20Z")

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Hardly.

ETA: People are morons. The seller probably never knew the expression was “hardly used.”

Just like my old boss used to say “For all intensive purposes."

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-hotly-used-mean/786759/3 "2017-05-16T16:43:18Z")

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Interestingly enough someone asked almost the same question as you just a few days ago on the IGN discussion board except asking about a PS3 on Craigslist.

The answers there were not very helpful and generally assumed a crude sexual act.

I did a little searching around for the phrase “hotly used” on the web and found it in a number of online classified ads where the writer clearly did not have the best communication skills. I agree with beowulff that they’re probably trying to say something else like “hardly”.

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**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-hotly-used-mean/786759/4 "2017-05-16T16:47:22Z")

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Thanks - that makes sense in the same way that “for all intensive purposes” does, which is to say it both makes sense and, at the same time, does not.

I’m glad the answers here were more helpful than IGN’s.