in the hot seat

Cultural  

1. In an uncomfortable or embarrassing situation, usually by being subjected to severe criticism: “When the settlement talks broke down, he was in the hot seat with both management and labor.” The phrase is an extension of “hot seat,” slang for the electric chair.

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in the hot seat Idioms  

1. see hot seat.

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Example Sentences

WSJLI: You guys did a really fun social campaign with Ziwe, where the comedian known for putting celebrities in the hot seat was running a “Bad Boyfriend Bootcamp” with culture’s notoriously bad boyfriends.

From The Wall Street Journal

David, 65, said: "I had so many visits with Jill when she was going through it, and then two years later I found myself sitting in the hot seat in the same room, and she was there for me."

From BBC

Judging by the noise coming out of Hollywood, whoever ends up in the hot seat ought to be relieved not to be caught up in the Warner takeover battle.

From Barron's

A fortnight after the Gunners' surprise draw at Sunderland gave their Premier League title rivals new hope, Sunday's resounding win over Tottenham has put them firmly back in the hot seat.

From BBC

OpenAI’s new short-form video app is putting Meta Platforms Inc. in the hot seat.

From MarketWatch