Hot-potato
noun
1.
Informal. a situation or issue that is difficult, unpleasant, or risky to deal with.
2.
British Informal. a baked potato.
noun
1.
(slang) an awkward or delicate matter
noun phrase
Something embarrassing and troublesome; a tricky and sticky matter: Everyone can see how the boss looks when he handles a hot potato (1846+)
Related Terms
drop someone or something like a hot potato
A problem so controversial and sensitive that it is risky to deal with. For example, Gun control is a political hot potato. This term, dating from the mid-1800s, alludes to the only slightly older expression drop like a hot potato, meaning “to abandon something or someone quickly” (lest one be burned). The idiom alludes to the fact that cooked potatoes retain considerable heat because they contain a lot of water.
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