a flatiron hot enough to siss when touched with a wet finger

Their supplies were down to a dog tent, five plugs of chewing tobacco, four beans, and a slab of sourbelly. — Walter Vaughan, The Life and Work of Sir William Van Horne (1920)

Unfortunately, when it comes to the informant who turns state’s evidence against a confrere, the OED slaps on the obscure origin label.

This list is necessary so Apache can set the right HTTP headers when a certain file is requested.