Food expressions are popular with language learners . They combine two things important to every culture : food and language . Today we are going to talk about spuds , a nickname for potatoes ! First of all , potatoes have been around for a very long time . In the food magazine Bon Appetit , Sam Dean writes about the beginnings of the potato . He explains that the common white potato came from Peru at least 7,000 years ago . Potatoes fed the Incan empire and other cultures in Peru at that time . These days , most countries use a type of potato in their cooking . Whether you like them boiled , baked , mashed or fried – potatoes are what we call a staple . This means they are a basic food that you can build on . You can cover them in gravy , butter , salt and pepper or sour cream and herbs . And for people who eat pork , you have not lived until you have eaten a baked potato topped with melted cheese and crispy bacon . Speaking of meat on top of potatoes , let's go back to the idea of potatoes being a simple , basic food . We have a potato expression to describe a person like that : simple , basic , common . If someone is a meat-and-potatoes kind of person , they prefer eating simple meals such as – well , meat and potatoes . They are not interested in complex , fancy food . They are unpretentious . Men are often described by this expression . When I hear about a meat-and-potatoes man , I picture a big , beefy guy . He likes to wear blue jeans and a simple t-shirt . He probably drives a truck and can fix it himself . He is a simple , no-nonsense kind of guy . It is a little less common , but we can also describe a woman as a meat-and-potatoes kind of person . This type of woman not only likes to eat steak and hamburgers , she is also a down-to-earth person . She likes simple things , can take care of herself and is comfortable just hanging out with the guys . Besides describing people , there is another way we use meat-and-potatoes . It can also describe the most important part of an activity or event . For example , you might say that order is the meat-and-potatoes of teaching children . A teacher cannot teach and the children cannot learn in a loud , wild , messy classroom . Now , order may not be the most exciting part of teaching little ones , but it is arguably the most important -- or , the meat-and-potatoes . In another example , you could say that voter outreach is the meat-and-potatoes of any political campaign . If people don't come out to vote for your candidate or issue , the rest of your campaign strategy really does not matter . Okay , as you know , potatoes hold heat well , meaning they stay hot for a long time . This idea led to the “hot potato ” party game . Here's how you play . Players form a circle and toss a small object quickly to each other while music plays . You want to release the object as fast as possible , as if it was a hot potato . When the music stops , the player holding the potato must leave the game . However , “hot potato ” is more than a game . It can also mean a divisive or difficult issue . So , you could say the lawmakers discussed a few hot potato issues at the meeting . And if an issue is too controversial , it might be a good idea to drop it like a hot potato . When you drop something or someone like a hot potato , you leave the person or thing completely and quickly . Take my friend Olga , for example . She was dating this guy for a few months and she really liked him . But when she saw him acting unkind to a little puppy , she dropped him like a hot potato ! You see , Olga loves animals , especially dogs . Hot potatoes might be important issues but “small potatoes ” are just the opposite . They are unimportant matters . We often use the term small potatoes when we dismiss something . It is simply not worth our time . Again , my friend Olga can help explain . After a storm damaged her hometown , she decided to collect money for homeless animals . She had little time to do so . There were so many cats and dogs without any food or shelter . To help , I suggested selling lemonade to raise some money . “Small potatoes !” she cried . “We need to go for big business donors . They have real money to spend !” People can also be called “small potatoes .” It is a way of saying they are not a threat . If police in a big city do not have enough resources , they probably won't waste manpower on small potatoes , like bicycle thieves . They have bigger fish to fry . But please note . We may say “small potatoes ” for trivial , unimportant matters . But , we do not say “big potatoes ” for important ones . English is funny that way !