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Drop like a hot potato

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on November 03, 2008 at 20:15

In Reply to: Drop like a hot potato posted by David Hambling on November 03, 2008 at 19:58:

: Where does the phrase "drop like a hot potato" come from? Does it relate to baked potatoes being used as hand warmers in the C19th?

You've obviously never taken a baked potato out of a fire and been obliged to toss it continually from hand to hand until it had cooled down enough to handle without scorching yourself. If you had, you'd know exactly why this is a natural metaphor for anything that's "too hot to handle". BTW, I'm not aware that baked potatoes were ever "used as handwarmers in the C19th". If they had been so used, a nice warm potato that you are clasping to make yourself warm and comfortable is the exact opposite of what the metaphor is meant to convey! (VSD)

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