hotcha

English edit

Alternative forms edit

hot-cha

Etymology edit

Fanciful extension of hot.

Pronunciation edit

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhɒtʃə/
Audio (AU) (file)

Adjective edit

hotcha (comparative more hotcha, superlative most hotcha)

(US, slang, dated) Flashy, vivacious, attractive, desirable. [from 20th c.]
- 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin, published 2011, page 53:
  ‘It seems he run Sternwood's hotcha daughter, the young one, off to Yuma.’
(US, slang, dated) Exciting, lively. [from 20th c.]
- 1935, The Collegiate, Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School, Sarnia, Ontario, May 1935, page 143:
  I've got a job down at the hotcha night club as a featured entertainer.
- 1933, Havana Widows (motion picture press book), Warner Bros. publicity dept., New York, page 11:
  ‘Here come the hotcha gals from Havana.’
- 1942, Bulletin of The American Association of University Professors, October 1942, page 542::
  ‘It becomes a hotcha curb-service by girls with bare thighs.’
Of or relating to a Harlem style of hot rhythm music, especially jazz. [1930s]
- 1935 May 4, The Billboard, page 13:
  The passing of Harlem as a hotcha after-dark entertainment center, to a great extent, coupled with the drift towards Broadway of the Harlem spots.
- The Billboard, March 9 1935, p. 16:
  The band […] gives her [Blanche Calloway] excellent support, blaring out the hotcha special arrangements in typical Harlem style.
- Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra, song Hotcha Razz-Ma-Tazz (Andy Razaf, Will Hudson, Irving Mills), recorded January 1934 (Victor 24690)
  Listen, pal, you gotta swing and grab your gal / and do that thing. / Learn that jig-time dancing / called hotcha-razz-ma-tazz […] / Swing your partners one and all / to hotcha razz-ma-tazz.

Noun edit

hotcha (plural hotchas)

A musical composition in the hotcha style.
- 1937, King-Hall Survey 1936, by Stephen King-Hall, Newnes, London, page 93:
  Jazz - Hotcha v. Swing [...] I seemed to notice a tendency, towards the end of 1936, for [...] 'Hotcha' music to be replaced by 'Swing' music.
- 1935 July, NBC Reception Staff Review, National Broadcasting Company, New York, page 4:
  NBC Music Library […] the files have to be stocked with every kind of score that exists, including […] Harlem hotchas.
- 1933 November, The Lehigh Burr (vol. 51 no.2), Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., page 12:
  The dining and dancing establishments have been springing up [...] each adding its bit to the neon glow and the hotcha chorus [...] More hotcha per square inch than any other joint in town.
(US, slang, dated) An attractive young woman.

Interjection edit

hotcha

(US, slang, dated) An exclamation of excitement, delight or high approval. [from 20th c.]
- La Mezcla, Armijo High School, Fairfield, Calif., June 1933, p. 17:
  Hotcha! Here comes a serving of beer.
- John O'Hara, Appointment in Samarra, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1935, p. 21:
  Did you ever see her in a bathing suit? Hotcha!