hot pencil
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
A police officer who writes a high volume of traffic tickets.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
He was a hot pencil who kept CHP brass happy by writing more tickets than anybody. Secretly, he was using his highly polished Badge 861 1 to stalk young women for weird, sexually tinged power games.
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “hot pencil” mean?
A police officer who writes a high volume of traffic tickets.
Is “hot pencil” formal or informal?
hot pencil is generally slang.