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• meat and potatoes
  meat and potatoes

  noun

  the essential or basic part.
• meat-and-potatoes
  meat-and-potatoes

  adjective

  fundamental; down-to-earth; basic.

meat and potatoes

¹ American  

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. the essential or basic part.

   Community service is the meat and potatoes of this program.

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meat-and-potatoes ² American  

[meet-n-puh-tay-tohz, -tuhz] / ˈmit n pəˈteɪ toʊz, -təz /

Or meat-and-potato

adjective

Informal.

1. fundamental; down-to-earth; basic.

   What are the meat-and-potatoes issues of the election?

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meat and potatoes Idioms  

1. 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]

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Etymology

Origin of meat and potatoes¹

Probably earlier than 1950–55

Origin of meat-and-potatoes²

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meat and potatoes meat-and-potatoes

That was a change from some earlier, infamous Tesla earnings calls when he lost his temper and even berated “boring, bonehead” questions about the meat and potatoes of that company’s business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

"She got the diet just right for Middle England - meat and potatoes, all the greens in the right place. And sponge pudding to follow. It's comfortable and regular. Sometimes you'll even enjoy it."

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025

With Letterman at CBS competing directly with Leno at NBC, two strains of late night were defined: the former’s forward-looking, oddball approach; the latter’s more controlled, old-fashioned meat and potatoes comedy.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2024

In 2020, Taste of Home published a list of "39 recipes husbands can't get enough of," including some real "meat and potatoes" fare like beef chimichangas and burgers with grilled cheese sandwiches as buns.

From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2023

There would be stew with some biscuits and maybe some meat and potatoes for dinner.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

Nor has she spent much time editing reporters who do that kind of meat-and-potatoes journalism.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

After the meat-and-potatoes structure and extreme length of “Iceman,” the comparatively brief and more musically vivid “Maid of Honour,” 45 minutes to the other’s 68, is a relief.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

But making that rhetoric stick on such an affable, meat-and-potatoes persona?

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2024

Harbaugh is now coach of the Chargers, who might have taken a receiver with the fifth pick but chose a more meat-and-potatoes option and selected Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2024

“I’m a meat-and-potatoes man, myself,” he explained to Theodora.

From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson