hot potato
noun
Informal.
a situation or issue that is difficult, unpleasant, or risky to deal with.
British Informal.
a baked potato.
Origin of hot potato
First recorded in 1840–50
Words nearby hot potato
hot pants,
hot pepper,
hot plate,
hot pool,
hot pot,
hot potato,
hot rod,
hot rodder,
hot sauce,
hot seat,
hot seat, in the
British Dictionary definitions for hot potato
hot potato
noun
slang
an awkward or delicate matter
Idioms and Phrases with hot potato
hot potato
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.