meat-and-potatoes

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adjective

meat-and-po·​ta·​toes ˈmēt-ən(d)-pə-ˈtā-(ˌ)tōz 

1

: of fundamental importance : basic

also : concerned with or emphasizing the basic aspects of something

2

: unpretentious, simple

a real meat-and-potatoes guy

3

: providing or preferring simple food (such as meat and potatoes)

meat and potatoes

2 of 2

noun

plural in form but singular or plural in construction

: the most interesting or fundamental part : meat sense 4

Synonyms

Adjective

• abecedarian
• basal
• basic
• beginning
• elemental
• elementary
• essential
• fundamental
• introductory
• rudimental
• rudimentary
• underlying

Noun

• bottom line
• bull's-eye
• centerpiece
• core
• crux
• essence
• gist
• heart
• kernel
• keynote
• meat
• net
• nub
• nubbin
• nucleus
• pith
• pivot
• point
• root
• sum

Examples of meat-and-potatoes in a Sentence

Adjective

a meat-and-potatoes knowledge of figure skating is all that a spectator really needs

Noun

an article that never gets into the meat and potatoes of a solution to the city's rising crime rate

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

At a time when scientific process gets painted as voodoo in certain political circles, there’s a meat-and-potatoes satisfaction to watching a film that makes straightforward problem-solving seem heroic. —Scott Tobias, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2024

The best way to describe the 2024 Los Angeles Rams draft: meat-and-potatoes picks. —Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 27 Apr. 2024

Noun

From meat and potatoes, to salads, breads and even some desserts and drinks. —Janet B. Carson, arkansasonline.com, 9 Dec. 2024

Polls show these two men are strangers to a large chunk of the electorate, and Vance is clearly mindful of the need for that type of overview before getting into the rhetorical meat and potatoes of the evening. —Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1846, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1951, in the meaning defined above