Learn English – “Hot mess” meaning and etymology

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A phrase has started to be used somewhat frequently over the past few years: "hot mess".

I have heard it in professional journalism (albeit, admittedly, mostly entertainment and/or gossip journalism).

There seems to be some confusion over what it means, though. Here are some of the varying commonly held definitions:

  • A person who is seemingly emotionally or mentally unbalanced who yet remains alluring, esp. one whose unbalance derives from social debauchery (excessive partying)
    • Or one such who does not remain alluring
  • A person who is disheveled who yet remains alluring
    • Or one such who does not remain alluring
  • An item that is dizzyingly chaotic in appearance
  • A situation or incidence that is extraordinarily bad

Is this an older phrase that has gained new life, or has it come into being in the last decade? If the latter, what was the original definition?

Best Answer

According to Wiktionary, the "figurative" usage of hot mess is...

(slang, idiomatic, chiefly southern US) A person, thing, or situation in a state of pitiful disarray.

Which I think is fairly transparently derived from the literal sense...

(military) A warm meal, usually cooked in a large pot, often similar to a stew or porridge; or, service of such a heated meal to soldiers.

It may not be too fanciful to suppose it also has overtones of...

mess of pottage - something valueless or trivial or of inferior value
used esp. of something accepted instead of a rightful thing of far greater value

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