Hot Rod
Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or replacement of the camshaft(s), sometimes known as a "stick" or "rod". A camshaft designed to produce more power is sometimes called a "hot stick" or a "hot rod". Roadsters were the cars of choice because they were light. The term became commonplace in the 1930s or 1940s as the name of a car that had been "hopped up" by modifying the engine in various ways to achieve higher performance.
The term can also apply to other items that are "suped up" for a particular purpose, such as "hot-rodded amplifier".
Famous quotes containing the words hot and/or rod:
“When shot, the deer seldom drops immediately, but runs sometimes for hours, the hunter in hot pursuit. This phase, known as ‘deer running,’ develops fleet runners, particularly in deer- jacking expeditions when the law is pursuing the hunters as swiftly as the hunters are pursuing the deer.”
—For the State of Maine, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”
—Bible: Hebrew Proverbs 29:15.