A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

hot-water bottle • water bottle
hot-water bottle —a rubber container of hot water, used to
warm a bed, etc.: I would have a fire and an india-rubber hot-
water bottle, and I would lie and sleep.
water bottle —a (plastic) bottle for holding drinking water,
carried by hikers, etc.: He held out the tiny glass, and I half
filled it from the water bottle.
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hot-water bottle

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hotter than a pistol • hotter than blazes
hotter than a pistol —(coll.) said of a person or thing that is
very popular: Radios were hotter than a pistol. Shimek’s still
sells radios as well as televisions and sound equipment.
hotter than blazes —(coll.) is used to hyperbolically designate
smth. very hot: Now Djibouti is hotter than you can imagine.
Humid, hot, hot as blazes, hotter than blazes.
hound someone • hound someone down
hound someone —(also: dog someone) 
1
. make smb. the victim
of continual persecution: Club owners were afraid to hire a
comedian who was hounded by police. 2. annoy or harass a
person persistently: A year later, he is still hounding me to
pay, and still refuses to cover the cost of repairs for the damages
he made.
hound someone down —
1
. search for or pursue a person, espe-
cially for arrest or punishment: A price was put on his head,
and he was hounded down throughout the war. 2. track down
and finally find a person, especially for arrest or punishment:
In fleeing for safety they were eventually hounded down to
the Cave of the Lakes.
house man • man of the house
house man —
1
. a person hired to perform general work about
a house: She went through to tell the house-man to clear away
the tea. 2. house detective employed by a department store,
hotel, etc.: He … grinned at me sociably. “I’m the house man
here. Spill it.” 3. a doctor who has a junior post in a hospital;
an intern who serves in residence at a hospital: After qualifi-
cation you have to spend a year working as a hospital house-
man.