B40

3

1. Violently hot; drying or scorching with heat; burning; parching; as, "torrid heat." 2. Characterized by intense emotion; as, "a torrid love affair." 3. Emotionally charged and vigorously energetic; as, "a torrid dance." Quotes: Cyrene's torrid soil -- Milton Taniperla is a tumbledown coffee-farming outpost in torrid lowlands in Chiapas state. -- "Mexico Sees Both Carrot and Stick Fail in Chiapas", New York Times, May 17, 1998 There are other treasures in this humorous phantasmagoria of song--the torrid pavement dancing of Fred Davis and Eddie Sledge, the bland gunman fooling of Harry Clark and Jack Diamond, the antic dancing masquerade that serves as first scene to 'The Taming of the Shrew' sequence. -- "At the Theatre: 'Kiss Me, Kate'", New York Times, December 31, 1948 Still, the idea of a torrid affair between the teen-ager from Oak Park, Ill[inois], and the shapely auburn-haired nurse, fits the myth of Hemingway as an icon of male prowess -- hunter, drinker, fighter, writer and lover. -- "A Hemingway Story, and Just as Fictional", New York Times, January 26, 1997 Fleisher has been going at a torrid pace as well, but he acknowledged after his second straight 67 that if he hadn't birdied two of his last three holes, O'Connor likely would have had a walkover today. -- "O'Connor Turns Up Heat for Final Day: Irishman Is Seeking First Seniors Win", Washington Post, July 4, 1999 Stocks rose for a third consecutive session yesterday, pushed higher by money flowing into stocks of the biggest and most widely traded companies and torrid demand for companies that do business on the Internet. -- "Stocks Rise Again, Buoyed by Technology and Internet Shares", New York Times, December 22, 1998 Etymology: Torrid derives from Latin torridus, parched, burnt, dry, from torreo, torrere, to burn, parch, dry up with heat or thirst. The noun form of the word is torridness or torridity.