Example: De vergadering draaide vooral om een heet hangijzer.
Definition
"Een heet hangijzer" is a Dutch expression referring to a controversial or sensitive issue that provokes heated debate or disagreement. It is commonly used to describe a topic that is difficult to resolve and causes tension in discussions or meetings.
Translations
a thorny issue
un tema delicado
un tema delicat
un sujet sensible
ein heikles Thema
una questione spinosa
uma questão delicada
Etymology
The phrase "een heet hangijzer" literally translates to "a hot hanging iron" in English. Historically, it referred to a red-hot iron used for pressing clothes or as a branding tool, symbolizing something heated and pressing. Over time, it came to metaphorically represent a topic that is 'hot' or contentious and hard to handle.
Learn to use this expression actively
"Een heet hangijzer" appears in the Vocaplus list "Dutch - General - Idioms and Proverbs - (C2) - set 1", containing 105 commonly used expressions.
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a thorny issue