phrase🎓 English idiom

a hot potato

a controversial issue people avoid handling

What it means

A controversial or awkward issue or situation that no one wants to deal with because it is difficult or risky. People tend to pass it along quickly rather than handle it themselves.

Examples

  • Immigration has become a political hot potato in recent elections.
  • Nobody wanted the complaint, so it was passed around like a hot potato.
  • The funding cuts are a hot potato the council keeps avoiding.
  • Discussing salaries openly is a real hot potato in many offices.

Where it comes from

The phrase comes from the mid-19th century and builds on the older expression 'to drop like a hot potato', meaning to abandon something quickly. A freshly baked potato is too hot to hold for long.

Related idioms

#the elephant in the room#throw someone under the bus#rock the boat#in hot water

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