as in hot button
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Recent Examples of third rail
But cutting entitlements is also the third rail of American politics.
—
Erin Doherty, Axios, 4 Dec. 2024
Failures of the overhead catenary wires — the power lines that function much like the third rail on a subway — have been a regular occurrence on the rail line in recent months.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 2 Dec. 2024
Immigration has become a third rail in American politics, with lawmakers unwilling to tackle the basic problems plaguing our immigration system.
—Gary Shapiro, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2024
Yet reining them in has proved to be a political third rail.
—Gordon Adams, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2010
See all Example Sentences for third rail 
Erin Doherty, Axios, 4 Dec. 2024
Failures of the overhead catenary wires — the power lines that function much like the third rail on a subway — have been a regular occurrence on the rail line in recent months.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 2 Dec. 2024
Immigration has become a third rail in American politics, with lawmakers unwilling to tackle the basic problems plaguing our immigration system.
—Gary Shapiro, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2024
Yet reining them in has proved to be a political third rail.
—Gordon Adams, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2010
See all Example Sentences for third rail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for third rail
Noun
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Artificial intelligence protections became a hot button issue during the summer-long actors and writers’ strikes in 2023.Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 16 Dec. 2024
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Xinjiang supplies more than 80 percent of China’s cotton, but has been a hot button issue for years.Evan Clark, WWD, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The obesity epidemic is a ticking time bomb, and the current system of trial and error isn't cutting it.Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
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The desperation to turn their season around and defuse the ticking time bomb of a potential Fox trade request could motivate the Kings to call Miami about Butler despite the Heat's bluster about not trading him.Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Mobilizing more military hardware, stationing U.S. forces closer to opponents, and spurring weapons proliferation among allies only makes the region more of a powder keg.Van Jackson, Foreign Affairs, 22 Oct. 2021
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Although much of it was filmed in Ontario, the series has a good sense of Philadelphia as a stratified powder keg of a city.Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Nov. 2024
Noun
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What had been an inconvenience in one direction is now a blockage for both, a potential flash point.Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Jan. 2025
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This fall, the event became an unexpected flash point in L.A.’s debate over gentrification as long-simmering neighborhood tensions exploded and a vocal group of residents ultimately pushed the ultra-popular flea market out of town.Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Third rail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/third%20rail. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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