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 The filmmaker and editors construct the first hour like a game of hot potato, starting on a 28-year old named Xiao Dong and jumping with each successive scene to another member of the man’s family, each one introduced with a title card linking them to the prior focus. —

Ben Croll, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2024 Studios, streamers and indie distributors were understandably wary of picking up such a political hot potato. —

Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2024 Trump came out against the border deal, characterizing it as a political non-starter in an election year in which immigration would once again become a political hot potato. —

Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press, 7 Aug. 2024 The trio have spent the past two-plus years passing the world record around like a hot potato. —

Dave Sheinin, Washington Post, 27 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for hot potato

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hot potato.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.