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Recent Examples of third rail
The Music City Loop won't pose electrical risks like a subway's third rail, the company said.
—
Stuart Dyos, The Tennessean, 12 Aug. 2025
The new law rolls back California’s landmark environmental review law to exempt urban apartment developments, an idea once considered a legislative third rail.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 13 July 2025
Medicare trustees have sounded the alarm on the Hospital Trust Fund for years, though the warnings have mostly been ignored by Congress, as lawmakers view Medicare reforms as a political third rail.
—Aris Folley, The Hill, 18 June 2025
The two Tennessee administrators had just stepped on the third rail of college sports.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for third rail
Stuart Dyos, The Tennessean, 12 Aug. 2025
The new law rolls back California’s landmark environmental review law to exempt urban apartment developments, an idea once considered a legislative third rail.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 13 July 2025
Medicare trustees have sounded the alarm on the Hospital Trust Fund for years, though the warnings have mostly been ignored by Congress, as lawmakers view Medicare reforms as a political third rail.
—Aris Folley, The Hill, 18 June 2025
The two Tennessee administrators had just stepped on the third rail of college sports.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for third rail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for third rail
Noun
-
Freedom of expression and issues of self-censorship were leitmotifs of this year’s Zurich Summit, with execs discussing attacks on cultural pluralism and as well as attitudes to hot button films.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
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And one of our roles is to put out a large volume of intellectually honest, unbiased polling data that will illustrate where the American people are on a range of hot button topics.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Ray’s most chaotic photograms—jumbles that push out of the frame or look like time bombs ready to explode—find echoes in his films, projected on the back walls, a show in themselves.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
3 Oct. 2025
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Ignoring deforestation is a ticking time bomb for coffee companies, which stand to see production decrease and prices increase in an increasingly hot and dry world.—
Marianne Krasny,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The entire country was a messianic powder keg.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Sep. 2025
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However, internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI’s ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Sports is a flash point in the NBCU-YouTube talks, which are preceding a major carriage renewal with Disney ahead of a late-October deadline.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
25 Sep. 2025
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Rhetoric about Taiwan, the most prominent flash point for Chinese sovereignty, is an example of the historical origins of the issue.—
David C. Kang,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Third rail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/third%20rail. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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