"hot potato" meaning in English

See hot potato in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: en-au-hot potato.ogg Forms: hot potatoes [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun|~|hot potatoes}} hot potato (countable and uncountable, plural hot potatoes)
  1. (uncountable) A child's game in which players pass a ball or other item between them, with the object of avoiding being left holding the item when time expires. Tags: uncountable Categories (topical): Games Synonyms: pass the parcel Translations (child's game): 擊鼓傳花 (Chinese Mandarin), 击鼓传花 (jīgǔchuánhuā) (Chinese Mandarin), kuuma peruna (Finnish), patate chaude [feminine] (French), patata calda [feminine] (Italian), карто́шка (kartóška) [feminine] (Russian), patata caliente [feminine] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-hot_potato-en-noun-41LeQRXb Disambiguation of Games: 84 16 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Hebrew translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Korean translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations, Terms with Norwegian translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 91 9 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 82 18 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 91 9 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 92 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 74 26 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 84 16 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Hebrew translations: 77 23 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 88 12 Disambiguation of Terms with Korean translations: 74 26 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 77 23 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations: 93 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian translations: 74 26 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 88 12 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 90 10 Disambiguation of "child's game": 100 0
  2. (countable, idiomatic) An awkward or delicate problem with which nobody wants to be associated. Tags: countable, idiomatic Translations (awkward or delicate problem): 燙手山芋 (Chinese Mandarin), 烫手山芋 (tàngshǒushānyù) (Chinese Mandarin), kuuma peruna (Finnish), patate chaude [feminine] (French), heißes Eisen [neuter] (German), תַּפּוּחַ אֲדָמָה לוֹהֵט (tapúaẖ adamá lohét) [masculine] (Hebrew), patata bollente [feminine] (Italian), 뜨거운 감자 (tteugeoun gamja) (Korean), varm potet [masculine] (Norwegian Bokmål), varm potet [feminine, masculine] (Norwegian Nynorsk), patata caliente [feminine] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-hot_potato-en-noun-p3G0eRqk Disambiguation of 'awkward or delicate problem': 2 98
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: drop like a hot potato, hot-potato routing Related terms: hot button, third rail

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "drop like a hot potato"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "hot-potato routing"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "hot potatoes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~",
        "2": "hot potatoes"
      },
      "expansion": "hot potato (countable and uncountable, plural hot potatoes)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "hot button"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "third rail"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "91 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "91 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "92 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "74 26",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "84 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "83 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hebrew translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "88 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "74 26",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Korean translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "93 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "74 26",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "88 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "90 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "84 16",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Games",
          "orig": "en:Games",
          "parents": [
            "Recreation",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A child's game in which players pass a ball or other item between them, with the object of avoiding being left holding the item when time expires."
      ],
      "id": "en-hot_potato-en-noun-41LeQRXb",
      "links": [
        [
          "child",
          "child"
        ],
        [
          "game",
          "game"
        ],
        [
          "pass",
          "pass"
        ],
        [
          "ball",
          "ball"
        ],
        [
          "avoid",
          "avoid"
        ],
        [
          "expire",
          "expire"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable) A child's game in which players pass a ball or other item between them, with the object of avoiding being left holding the item when time expires."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "pass the parcel"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "child's game",
          "word": "擊鼓傳花"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "jīgǔchuánhuā",
          "sense": "child's game",
          "word": "击鼓传花"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "child's game",
          "word": "kuuma peruna"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "child's game",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "patate chaude"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "child's game",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "patata calda"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "kartóška",
          "sense": "child's game",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "карто́шка"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "child's game",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "patata caliente"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1969 January 12, Benjamin Welles, “A Hot Potato for Nixon”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "The “lame duck” Johnson Administration, in its final fortnight in office, grappled last week with a diplomatic hot potato in the form of the latest Soviet proposal for a “just and lasting” Middle East peace settlement.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1984 June 14, Carol Lawson, quoting Phyllis Silverman, “Parental Leave: a ‘Hot Potato’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "How do you handle the work of a woman out on leave, yet not lose a valuable employee down the road? At the same time, companies know this is a hot potato, and they have to do something.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 August 3, Ed Augustin, Daniel Montero, “Why the internet in Cuba has become a US political hot potato”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "Full connectivity returned 72 hours later, but the issue has become a hot potato in the US.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An awkward or delicate problem with which nobody wants to be associated."
      ],
      "id": "en-hot_potato-en-noun-p3G0eRqk",
      "links": [
        [
          "awkward",
          "awkward"
        ],
        [
          "delicate",
          "delicate"
        ],
        [
          "problem",
          "problem"
        ],
        [
          "associate",
          "associate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable, idiomatic) An awkward or delicate problem with which nobody wants to be associated."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "word": "燙手山芋"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "tàngshǒushānyù",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "word": "烫手山芋"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "word": "kuuma peruna"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "patate chaude"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "heißes Eisen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "tapúaẖ adamá lohét",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "תַּפּוּחַ אֲדָמָה לוֹהֵט"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "patata bollente"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "tteugeoun gamja",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "word": "뜨거운 감자"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "varm potet"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "tags": [
            "feminine",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "varm potet"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "patata caliente"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-hot potato.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/70/En-au-hot_potato.ogg/En-au-hot_potato.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/En-au-hot_potato.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "hot potato"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Hebrew translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Korean translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "en:Games"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "drop like a hot potato"
    },
    {
      "word": "hot-potato routing"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "hot potatoes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~",
        "2": "hot potatoes"
      },
      "expansion": "hot potato (countable and uncountable, plural hot potatoes)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "hot button"
    },
    {
      "word": "third rail"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English uncountable nouns"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A child's game in which players pass a ball or other item between them, with the object of avoiding being left holding the item when time expires."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "child",
          "child"
        ],
        [
          "game",
          "game"
        ],
        [
          "pass",
          "pass"
        ],
        [
          "ball",
          "ball"
        ],
        [
          "avoid",
          "avoid"
        ],
        [
          "expire",
          "expire"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable) A child's game in which players pass a ball or other item between them, with the object of avoiding being left holding the item when time expires."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "pass the parcel"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1969 January 12, Benjamin Welles, “A Hot Potato for Nixon”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "The “lame duck” Johnson Administration, in its final fortnight in office, grappled last week with a diplomatic hot potato in the form of the latest Soviet proposal for a “just and lasting” Middle East peace settlement.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1984 June 14, Carol Lawson, quoting Phyllis Silverman, “Parental Leave: a ‘Hot Potato’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "How do you handle the work of a woman out on leave, yet not lose a valuable employee down the road? At the same time, companies know this is a hot potato, and they have to do something.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 August 3, Ed Augustin, Daniel Montero, “Why the internet in Cuba has become a US political hot potato”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "Full connectivity returned 72 hours later, but the issue has become a hot potato in the US.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An awkward or delicate problem with which nobody wants to be associated."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "awkward",
          "awkward"
        ],
        [
          "delicate",
          "delicate"
        ],
        [
          "problem",
          "problem"
        ],
        [
          "associate",
          "associate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable, idiomatic) An awkward or delicate problem with which nobody wants to be associated."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-hot potato.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/70/En-au-hot_potato.ogg/En-au-hot_potato.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/En-au-hot_potato.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "child's game",
      "word": "擊鼓傳花"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "jīgǔchuánhuā",
      "sense": "child's game",
      "word": "击鼓传花"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "child's game",
      "word": "kuuma peruna"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "child's game",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "patate chaude"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "child's game",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "patata calda"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "kartóška",
      "sense": "child's game",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "карто́шка"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "child's game",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "patata caliente"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "word": "燙手山芋"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "tàngshǒushānyù",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "word": "烫手山芋"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "word": "kuuma peruna"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "patate chaude"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "heißes Eisen"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "tapúaẖ adamá lohét",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "תַּפּוּחַ אֲדָמָה לוֹהֵט"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "patata bollente"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "tteugeoun gamja",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "word": "뜨거운 감자"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "varm potet"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "varm potet"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "awkward or delicate problem",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "patata caliente"
    }
  ],
  "word": "hot potato"
}

Download raw JSONL data for hot potato meaning in English (5.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.