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Get on the Stick

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Iris from Cave Junction, , wonders about the get on the stick, meaning get going, and piping hot, meaning extremely hot. While some have associated the get on the stick with an automotive origin, a more likely involves an old dialectal use of stick meaning a rate of speed, and to cut stick meaning to go away quickly. Piping hot, on the other hand, refers to so hot that it forces a kettle to make a whistling sound. Similarly, the Japanese dish shabu-shabu has a name imitative of its piping-hot, hissing broth. This is part of a complete episode.

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