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meat and potatoes
1noun
- the essential or basic part:
Community service is the meat and potatoes of this program.
meat-and-potatoes
2[ meet-n-puh-tey-tohz, -tuhz ]
adjective
- fundamental; down-to-earth; basic:
What are the meat-and-potatoes issues of the election?
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Word History and Origins
Origin of meat and potatoes1
Origin of meat and potatoes2
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Idioms and Phrases
The fundamental part or parts of something, as in This paragraph is the meat and potatoes of the contract . This metaphoric term transfers what some regard as basic fare to the basics of an issue. [Mid-1900s]Discover More
Example Sentences
Think of what a meat-and-potatoes Democrat like Ed Rendell would do in the job.
A meat-and-potatoes Democrat like Ed Rendell would make jobs and the economy the true top priority of his administration.
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[tawr-choo-uhs ]
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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