hot wire

hot wire

To start a vehicle without a key by connecting wires that power the ignition. The thief stole the car by hot wiring it. A: "If you lost the key, we'll have to hot wire the car, I guess." B: "Can't we just call a locksmith?"
See also: hot, wire
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

hot wire

tv. to start a car without a key. (By using a wire to carry current around the ignition switch.) Lefty hot wired the car and used it for an hour or two.
See also: hot, wire
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • wired
  • wiring
  • off key
  • off-key
  • key in
  • high-key
  • transpose (something) from (something) (in)to (something)
  • key off
  • transpose (something) to (something)
  • under lock and key
References in periodicals archive
One control unit can operate up to four hot wire cutters at highest power.
Our group recently suggested applying hot wire anemometry to measure the anode outlet velocity which can be converted into the water balance almost in real-time [7].
When you find a problem and want to turn off the current to fix it, you hook the controller over a hot wire and press the "off" button; you know the fence is off because the display tells you so.
"It's a mixture of three thirds - a third from Hot Wire, a third classics - hit singles or songs that have become classics through the fans liking them on YouTube or online, and also we do a smattering of covers, which we always have done."
Technical solutions are mainly proposed as to inovationally improve the cutting processes for foam based materials from standard edge cutting tools, or tools based on straight hot wire, to advanced tool, which mainly enables use of highly accurate robot machining processes in multi-axis cutting systems.
Their fence is four meters high and on the top of it has a 1.2-meter high over hand made of stainless steel plates and hot wires on top.
The heated wire in the hot wire pneumotach has the advantage of resisting the buildup of secretions and the issue or laminar versus turbulent flow is not an important factor in accuracy.
Conversely, if you are standing in a puddle and decide to kneel down while working on the electric fence, take care not to let your head come in contact with the hot wire. When you come to, you'll realize that you experienced an abnormally powerful shock (yes, we speak from experience) because both you and the charger had a good connection to a highly conductive soil.
Highlights of this updated model include utilization of a new hot wire seal system, which has a micro-processor-based impulse controller.
With the artist's help, the middle-schoolers created 18 panels from expanded polystyrene, learning how to cut the foam with a hot wire and create different textures by using various scraping and cutting techniques.
It's raw and carnal stripped-down punk rock and roll, with a newer version of Crime's "hit" "Hot Wire My Heart," a cover of Sonic Youth's "Pacific Coast Highway," and the other 10 songs ain't too shabby either....
There are two main anemometer types: vane and hot wire. The mechanical vane anemometer senses the slightest airflow by virtue of a lightweight, multibladed impeller mounted on a hub containing low-friction ball bearings.
The ungrounded conductor, or hot wire, can be any color other than white, gray or green.
Most electrical wiring inside any building has three wires: two wires that carry the power are called "hot" and "neutral"; and a third typically green wire which is for safety and a logic reference point called the "ground." Normal Mode power noise occurs between the hot wire and the neutral wire causing damage to power supplies, PC board blowouts and other catastrophic issues.
A hot wire, placed within an envelope, will transfer thermal energy from the wire to any gas molecules that come in contact with it, and that energy will be again transferred to the walls of the envelope.