hot shots
Flashy skilled performers
Hot shots, usually written as one word (hotshots), refers to people who are conspicuously talented or successful, often with an edge of arrogance: The new hotshots from Harvard think they know everything.
The term can be admiring or dismissive depending on context.
In firefighting, hotshots are elite crews who tackle the most dangerous wildfires.
A hot shot is also slang for a lethal injection of drugs, especially heroin deliberately poisoned to kill.
Highly skilled practitioners
- specialistsFocused field authorities
- prosAdvantages or experts
- mastersThose with dominion
- virtuososSupremely skilled performers
wizards · gurus · sharpshooters · crackshots · marksmen · snipers · dead-eyes · gunslingers
Highest-ranked cards
- top gunsMost important people
- all-starsSelected elite players
- championsContest winners, top performers
- hotdogsSausages in buns
showoffs · high flyers · standouts · superstars · overachievers · go-getters · rising stars · wunderkinds
Confident, boastful manner
- bravadoPretense of fearlessness
- cockinessBrash overconfidence
- showboatingOstentatious self-display
- hotdoggingFlashy, attention-seeking performance
grandstanding · ego · hubris · brashness · bluster · posturing · boasting · strutting
- spoofComic exaggerated imitation
- comedyWork meant to amuse
- sequelContinuation of prior work
- military satireComedic critique of warfare
Emilio Estevez · Lloyd Bridges · Saddam Hussein · carrier landing
Involving significant consequences
- clutchMechanism linking engine to gearbox
- crunch timeHigh-pressure final stretch
- spotlightConcentrated illumination source
- heatTransferred thermal energy
performance anxiety · expectation · competition · proving ground · trial by fire · sink or swim · do or die · make or break
experts
Highly skilled practitioners
- specialistsFocused field authorities
- prosAdvantages or experts
- mastersThose with dominion
virtuosos · wizards · gurus · sharpshooters · crackshots · marksmen · snipers · dead-eyes · gunslingers · ace pilots
aces
Highest-ranked cards
- top gunsMost important people
- all-starsSelected elite players
- championsContest winners, top performers
hotdogs · showoffs · high flyers · standouts · superstars · overachievers · go-getters · rising stars · wunderkinds · prodigies
swagger
Confident, boastful manner
- bravadoPretense of fearlessness
- cockinessBrash overconfidence
- showboatingOstentatious self-display
hotdogging · grandstanding · ego · hubris · brashness · bluster · posturing · boasting · strutting · preening
Charlie Sheen
Emilio Estevez · Lloyd Bridges · military satire · Saddam Hussein · carrier landing
high-stakes
Involving significant consequences
- clutchMechanism linking engine to gearbox
- crunch timeHigh-pressure final stretch
- spotlightConcentrated illumination source
heat · performance anxiety · expectation · competition · proving ground · trial by fire · sink or swim · do or die · make or break · under the gun
- firefightingfire station, fire truck, fire engine, firefighter, firefighters
- show-offsbraggarts, boasters, showboats, grandstanders, egotists
hot shotsnobodies
Unimportant, unknown persons
small fry · little people · nonentities · bit players · unknowns
hot shotswallflowers
Timid party attendees
shrinking violets · unsung heroes · team players · worker bees
hot, shot, shots, hotter, hottest, hotly, hotness, shooter, shooting