🗓️ Idiom: A Hot Potato (n)
💬 Meaning
- A subject or situation that is difficult or dangerous to deal with.
- Something people want to avoid because it causes problems or arguments.
🧠 Example Sentences
- The issue of employee layoffs became a hot potato during the meeting.
- Discussing company scandals in public is always a hot potato for managers.
- Handling data privacy laws can be a hot potato for international companies.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from the idea of holding a very hot potato, which is hard to keep because it burns your hands. It began in the 19th century as a way to describe problems people want to avoid quickly.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
The new tax policy became a ________ that no politician wanted to discuss.
Answer
hot potato
2. Multiple choice:
What does “a hot potato” mean?
a) A tasty food
b) A difficult problem people avoid
c) A popular topic
Answer
b) A difficult problem people avoid
3. Change the sentence using “a hot potato”:
“Everyone avoided talking about the company’s financial losses.”
Answer
The company’s financial losses were a hot potato.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
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