hot potato

American  

noun

1. Informal. a situation or issue that is difficult, unpleasant, or risky to deal with.

2. British Informal. a baked potato.

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hot potato British  

noun

1. slang an awkward or delicate matter

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hot potato Idioms  

1. A problem so controversial and sensitive that it is risky to deal with. For example, Gun control is a political hot potato. This term, dating from the mid-1800s, alludes to the only slightly older expression drop like a hot potato, meaning “to abandon something or someone quickly” (lest one be burned). The idiom alludes to the fact that cooked potatoes retain considerable heat because they contain a lot of water.

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Etymology

Origin of hot potato

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Broadly speaking, a “hot potato” is an item that no one wants.

From Literature

Watson went on to admit this "hot potato" was difficult to address and his hope was that everyone was equal.

From BBC

They all agreed that they would get rid of this hot potato, adjourn quickly and go home for the holidays.

From Salon

“You dropped him like a hot potato,” Clesca told Nichols as she questioned why the U.S. ever supported Henry in the first place.

From Seattle Times

Carpenter then tried to give it to Keoghan, but he refused, motioning at the statue as if it were a hot potato he was superstitious about jinxing.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crisis
• emergency
• exposure
• insecurity
• instability
• jeopardy
• menace
• peril
• pitfall
• possibility
• probability
• risk
• threat
• uncertainty
• vulnerability