hot seat

plural hot seats · alternative hotseat

1. broadcastingThe real or figurative seat occupied by a game show contestant at a stage where they are answering questions alone.
2. broadlyfigurativelyAny stressful situation; a situation in which one is the center of attention or vulnerable to attack or criticism; a position of unease or embarrassment.

   Now just a minute. You turn up out of nowhere, a routine space shot goes wrong, a new planet appears and you tell us you know all about it. That puts you slap bang in the hot seat, right?

   1966 October 8, Kit Pedler, “The Tenth Planet, episode 1” (19:29 from the start), in Doctor Who, season 4, episode 5, spoken by General Cutler (Robert Beatty), via BBC

   Synonyms: predicament, spotlight

3. broadlyslangThe electric chair.

   Looks like you for the hot seat, kid. Come along, both of you.

   1932, Ward Morehouse, Lillie Hayward, Big City Blues

   1 more example

   With deep creases slanting across the jowls of his dark bony face from the corners of his wide full mouth, and his sunken dark eyes, he was certainly a prime subject for the artists who sketch candidates for the hot seat for the tabloids, and for three days they had been making the most of it.

   1955, Rex Stout, “The Next Witness”, in Three Witnesses, Bantam, published 1994, →ISBN, page 10

4. attributivebroadlyvideo gamesA multiplayer game mode in which players take turns playing the game.

   In addition to traditional LAN play and online modes, there's […] a hot seat mode in which multiple players take their turns on the same computer […].

   2008 September 14, Jonathan Miller, “Civilization IV: Colonization Multiplayer Hands-On”, in GameSpot