A trucker and highway slang term for Interstate 5 — the major north-south freeway running along the US West Coast from the Canadian border down to Mexico. 'Nickel' is CB radio and trucker shorthand for I-5 (the number 5), and 'hot' references either the heavy traffic flow or the intense heat of the California stretches. If you're a long-haul driver rolling through California, Oregon, or Washington, you know exactly what someone means when they say they're riding the hot nickel.
We made it from Seattle to Portland in three hours on the hot nickel — barely any traffic.
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(slang) Interstate highway 5.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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