meat-and-potatoes

1 of 2

adjective

meat-and-po·​ta·​toes ˈmēt-ən(d)-pə-ˈtā-(ˌ)tōz 

1

: of fundamental importance : basic

also : concerned with or emphasizing the basic aspects of something

2

: unpretentious, simple

a real meat-and-potatoes guy

3

: providing or preferring simple food (such as meat and potatoes)

meat and potatoes

2 of 2

noun

plural in form but singular or plural in construction

: the most interesting or fundamental part : meat sense 4

Synonyms

Adjective

• abecedarian
• basal
• basic
• beginning
• elemental
• elementary
• essential
• fundamental
• introductory
• rudimental
• rudimentary
• underlying

Noun

• bottom line
• bull's-eye
• centerpiece
• core
• crux
• essence
• gist
• heart
• kernel
• keynote
• meat
• net
• nub
• nubbin
• nucleus
• pith
• pivot
• point
• root
• sum

Examples of meat-and-potatoes in a Sentence

Adjective

a meat-and-potatoes knowledge of figure skating is all that a spectator really needs

Noun

an article that never gets into the meat and potatoes of a solution to the city's rising crime rate

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

These meat-and-potatoes approaches — vaccination, access to treatment and clean air — may not be the most exciting tools. —Saad B. Omer, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024

Other offerings include Versus mode, which is the standard local PvP deal, allowing players able to select from the huge roster of 32 characters for meat-and-potatoes brawls. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2024

Noun

This Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic review will cover all of them in extensive detail without giving away the meat and potatoes. —Michael Carroll, Discover Magazine, 3 June 2023

Tired of meat and potatoes or chicken and rice for dinner? —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1846, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1951, in the meaning defined above