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

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.