hot potato

hot potato
a) A childs game in which players pass a ball or other item between them, with the object of avoiding being left holding the item when time expires.

The politician hastened to distance himself from that political hot potato.

b) An awkward or delicate problem with which nobody wants to be associated.

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  • Hot Potato — may refer to:*Hot Potato (game), a children s game that involves tossing a small object * Hot Potato (game show), an American television show from 1984 * Hot Potato (film), a film starring martial artist Jim Kelly * Hot Potato (song), a song by… …   Wikipedia

  • hot potato — A problem or issue that is very controversial and no one wants to deal with is a hot potato …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • hot potato — hot po tato n a subject or problem that no one wants to deal with, because it is difficult and any decision might make people angry ▪ The issue has become a political hot potato …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • hot potato — hot potatoes N COUNT If you describe a problem or issue as a hot potato, you mean that it is very difficult and nobody wants to deal with it. [INFORMAL] …   English dictionary

  • hot potato — ► NOUN informal ▪ a controversial and awkward issue …   English terms dictionary

  • hot potato — ☆ hot potato n. Informal a troubling or seemingly insoluble problem, issue, etc. that no one wants to handle …   English World dictionary

  • hot potato — noun a difficult situation (Freq. 1) he dropped the topic like a hot potato • Hypernyms: ↑situation * * * noun, pl ⋯ toes [count] informal : an issue or question about which people have different opinions and feel very strongly He tried to avoid… …   Useful english dictionary

  • hot potato — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms hot potato : singular hot potato plural hot potatoes informal a difficult issue that people try to avoid dealing with or discussing …   English dictionary

  • hot potato — n. a difficult problem. □ I sure don’t want to have to deal with that hot potato. □ This one is a hot potato. Ignore it for a while …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • hot potato —    A hot potato is a very sensitive and controversial matter which is difficult to deal with.     The new Prime Minister hasn t been confronted with any hot potatoes yet …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • hot potato — {n.}, {informal} A question that causes strong argument and is difficult to settle. * /Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the 1960s./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

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