Are you good with idioms?
I like idioms as they are fun, which makes them easier to remember!
Here's a fun one that you can add to your list of idioms - a hot potato!
What will you do when a hot potato is placed in your hands?
Much as you want to eat it immediately, it is difficult to do so as a hot potato contains a lot of water, making it very hot to touch, lest to say eat.
My guess is that you will most probably be tossing it around and looking for a place to lay it down (remember our previous post?) before you get burned.
However, different people have different views about how you should eat a hot potato. Some think that you need to eat it while it is hot as it is more tasty that way. Others think that you should soak it in cold water and only eat while it is cold. Really, there are so many ways you can deal with a hot potato that you cannot be sure what is the best way to do so!
And that is exactly what the idiom 'a hot potato' means!
"A current problem or situation that is hard to deal with and causes a lot of disagreement."
How to USE it:
In my example sentence, I mentioned that "The launch of Pokemon Go is a hot potato around the world."
Why is Pokemon Go a 'hot potato'?
Well, much as it is a fun and innovative game that many people love to play, it causes social problems like traffic accidents and disturbance to public and may lead to crimes, like Pokemon-Go-related robbery and kidnaps. So, many people are debating over whether the game should be allowed to launch in their countries. This problem that is happening now is difficult to deal with because different people have different views and we cannot get them to agree. So, that makes the launch of Pokemon Go a hot potato.
Try using this idiom in other situations!
About the Writer
Ms Vivien Wu is the founder of The Pedagogy Domain, a provider of small-group home-based language workshop for young learners. As an experienced teacher, trainer and facilitator, she is dedicated to improve learners' command of language through interactive, practical and fun workshops. Read more about her here.
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