Definition

Noun: A controversial, sensitive, or difficult issue or situation that is awkward or risky to handle, and which people are eager to pass on to someone else to avoid dealing with it.

Usage

The term "hot potato" is a metaphor. It describes a problem or topic that is so uncomfortable, dangerous, or divisive that no one wants to be responsible for it for long, much like a person would drop a literal hot potato to avoid being burned. It is almost always used with verbs like "drop," "pass," or "handle."

Examples

• The issue of tax reform became a political hot potato that no senator wanted to champion.
• The manager resigned and left the failing project as a hot potato for his successor.
• When asked about the scandal, the spokesperson dropped the topic like a hot potato.

Advanced Usage

• To be a hot potato: To be the problematic issue itself.
  • The new policy on remote work is a real hot potato for the HR department.
• To pass the hot potato: To transfer the responsibility for a difficult problem to another person or group.
  • Each department tried to pass the hot potato of budget cuts to another.

Variants and Related Words

• Hot-button issue: A closely related term for a controversial and emotionally charged topic that sparks immediate, strong reactions. While a "hot potato" is something people avoid, a "hot-button issue" is something people passionately debate.

Synonyms

• Controversy
• Sticky issue
• Ticklish situation
• Politically sensitive matter

Idioms and Phrases

• To drop (something) like a hot potato: To abandon or disassociate from something very quickly and decisively due to its problematic nature.
  • After the negative press, the company dropped the advertising campaign like a hot potato.

Noun

1. a difficult situation
   • he dropped the topic like a hot potato