a hot potato
/ə ˌhɒt pəˈteɪtəʊ/NEUTRAL · C1
Meaning
a difficult subject that people argue about
Examples
- 1Working from home has become a hot potato in our office since the new boss arrived.
- 2The pay cut was such a hot potato that nobody at the meeting wanted to mention it.
- 3Where to spend Christmas is always a hot potato in our family, so we try not to discuss it early.
- 4The new office dress code is a hot potato, and staff have been arguing about it for weeks.
- 5Is homework at weekends still such a hot potato, or have the parents finally agreed?
Grammar
Countable: a hot potato, hot potatoes. An adjective such as political often goes before hot.
More idioms about food
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →pig outto eat a very large amount of foodbread and butterthe work that brings in most of your incomea piece of cakesomething that is very easy to donot your cup of teanot the kind of thing that you like or enjoyhave a sweet toothto like eating sugary food very muchfood for thoughtan idea that is worth considering seriously
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
Here you get a couple of questions. The app gives you 16 practice modes, native equivalents and spaced repetition that tells you when it’s time to refresh.
