Extremely hot, burning intensely, or criticizing harshly and without mercy.
From 'scorch,' possibly from Old Norse 'skorpna' (to shrivel), which entered Middle English describing burning or withering. The figurative meaning (harsh criticism) developed by analogy to physical burning.
A 'scorching review' of a movie or book means the critic destroyed it with harsh words—we use the same word for extreme heat and extreme criticism because both leave destruction in their wake. Language reveals how similar our mental experience of these things really is.
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