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)
plural in form but singular or plural in construction
: the most interesting or fundamental part : meat sense 4
Synonyms
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
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2024
These meat-and-potatoes approaches — vaccination, access to treatment and clean air — may not be the most exciting tools.
—Saad B. Omer, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024
Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2024
Russia’s moves might have come as a shock, but for millennia, conquests and annexations were the meat and potatoes of state building and international politics.
—Peter Liberman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Mar. 2014
See all Example Sentences for meat-and-potatoes 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Adjective
Created by Ben Davies and Timothy Lee, Territory is boldly and unapologetically meat-and-potatoes television, in which everybody is gruff, sweaty and coated in a fine layer of dust, as if to reenforce the connection between these characters and the Top End.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2024
These meat-and-potatoes approaches — vaccination, access to treatment and clean air — may not be the most exciting tools.
—Saad B. Omer, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024
Noun
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
Russia’s moves might have come as a shock, but for millennia, conquests and annexations were the meat and potatoes of state building and international politics.
—Peter Liberman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Mar. 2014
See all Example Sentences for meat-and-potatoes
Dictionary Entries Near meat-and-potatoes
Cite this Entry
“Meat-and-potatoes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meat-and-potatoes. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share