This column is packed with tantalizing tidbits I haven't been able to squeeze in elsewhere.

— The recent appearance of the term "hotdogs," with the clue "showoffs," in a recent New York Times crossword puzzle led me to wonder why we use "hot dog" to describe an athlete who ostentatiously displays fancy stunts or maneuvers and, by extension, to denote anyone shows off.

You might assume that it originated with the edible hot dog, and, indeed, some amateur etymologists have fancifully and erroneously linked it to athletes who "played with relish" or to reckless skiers who were likely "to end up as dog meat."

In fact, the "showoff" meaning of "hot dog" derives from actual canines. When the wives of America's new millionaires adopted the pampered lap dog as a status symbol during the 1870s, "dog" became a slang term meaning "flashy, showy."

This gave rise to the expression "putting on the dog," first documented in 1871. By the 1890s, people had added "hot" to "dog" to describe a well-dressed young man — a dandy. During the 20th century, this sense of "hot dog" expanded to describe showoffs in general.

— Modern viewers of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta "The Pirates of Penzance" are often puzzled when one of the burglary tools given to the pirates is called a "life-preserver." In fact, in some productions, directors actually have the pirates don life jackets in this scene.

My friend Corny from Illinois explains that, on the crime-ridden streets of Victorian London, pedestrians would often carry a "life-preserver" to defend themselves against muggers; it was a short stick with a ball of lead shot attached to the end.

— My email buddy Frank Reisser reports that today's kids are using "verse" to mean "play another team," as in "We verse the Sharks tomorrow."

Something tells me they aren't using "verse" to mean either "teach" ("we'll verse them in the ways of soccer") or "write poetry" ("we'll verse their glories in a sonnet"). And let's hope they're not resurrecting one obsolete meaning of "verse": "to cheat."

Instead, this new usage is based on "versus," as in "Sharks versus Jets." Merriam-Webster's online dictionary includes this definition for the verb "verse": "to compete against or oppose," labeling it as "informal" and citing blogger Andrew Habashy's sentence: "Ant-Man is versing two evil-doers in his upcoming movie."

To my mind, this new and nifty use of "verse" demonstrates the irrepressible creativity and flexibility of American English. Hot dog!

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Photo credit: Mateusz Feliksik at Unsplash