hot potato

noun

: a controversial question or issue that involves unpleasant or dangerous consequences for anyone dealing with it

Examples of hot potato in a Sentence

He tried to avoid taking a strong stand on political hot potatoes like abortion.

Recent Examples on the Web

Families can bounce between potato sack races and games of hot potato in the Tater Tot Kidz Zone before browsing the farmers market and vintage tractor show. — Kinsey Gidick, Travel + Leisure, 27 July 2026

Orcas are known to play with their food—passing dying prey around to one another, for example, like a macabre game of hot potato. — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 23 July 2026

Since its founding in the 1970s, the group has been passed around like a hot potato and saw many of its properties revamp into Intercontinentals, Hyatts, and Four Seasonses over time. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 July 2026

Crisping the perfect pizza crust on a baking steel, searing steaks on a grill, draining a pot of scalding pasta water, or pulling a hot potato from an oven—none of these are the time or place to play it fast and loose. — Adam Campbell-Schmitt, Bon Appetit Magazine, 17 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hot potato

• adagio
• altiplano
• arapaho
• arapahoe
• fortissimo
• manifesto
• minangkabau
• oregano
• ostinato
• pistachio
• politico
• portfolio