third rail

noun

1

: a metal rail through which electric current is led to the motors of an electric vehicle (such as a subway car)

2

: a controversial issue usually avoided by politicians

Examples of third rail in a Sentence

Social Security is the third rail of American politics.

Recent Examples on the Web

But the department is best known for presiding over what some have called the third rail of American politics: the country’s immigration system, which was last reformed in 1990 and has been in a state of disrepair for decades. —Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024

Teacher pay, long a third rail of education policy, is finally having its moment. —Talia Milgrom-Elcott, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024

In addition to the Long Bridge, the new funding will support plans for a third rail along existing track in Northern Virginia, including three miles in Prince William County, two miles in Stafford County and four miles in Spotsylvania County. —Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 7 Dec. 2023

The new rule requires employees who are performing tasks near a powered third rail to cover it to ensure there is no inadvertent contact, officials said. —John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2023

The Clippers are now riding the third rail toward inevitable dysfunction. —Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2023

Psychedelics had been the third rail of scientific inquiry ever since Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert were thrown out of Harvard for passing out LSD with messianic fervor in the early 1960s. —Penelope Green, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2023

But there’s still a considerable amount of voltage flowing through the third rails of last year’s midterms. —Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 6 Oct. 2023

Maintenance vehicles scheduled to travel from JFK/UMass Station to Ashmont were incorrectly routed to Braintree, where the third rail was still powered, a potential safety hazard. —Laura Crimaldi, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined at sense 1