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meat and potatoes
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noun (used with a singular or plural verb)Informal.
the essential or basic part: Community service is the meat and potatoes of this program.
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Origin of meat and potatoes
Probably earlier than 1950–55
Words nearby meat and potatoes
measuring spoon, measuringworm, meat, meatal, meat and drink to one, meat and potatoes, meat ax, meataxe, meatball, Meath, meathead
Other definitions for meat and potatoes (2 of 2)
meat-and-potatoes
or meat-and-po·ta·to
[ meet-n-puh-tey-tohz, -tuhz ]
/ ˈmit n pəˈteɪ toʊz, -təz /
adjective Informal.
fundamental; down-to-earth; basic: What are the meat-and-potatoes issues of the election?
Origin of meat-and-potatoes
First recorded in 1945–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use meat and potatoes in a sentence
Other Idioms and Phrases with meat and potatoes
meat and potatoes
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]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.