meat and potatoes
The essential core
Meat and potatoes refers to the basic, essential, or most substantial part of something—from the traditional centerpiece of a hearty meal.
Let's skip the preliminaries and get to the meat and potatoes.
As an adjective, meat-and-potatoes describes someone or something plain, unpretentious, or focused on fundamentals: a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, meat-and-potatoes rock and roll.
Simply prepared, like family cooking
- heartyWarm and substantial
- fillingMaterial placed within
- satisfyingProducing fulfillment or pleasure
- wholesomeConducive to well-being
nourishing · gravy · roast · stew · casserole · mashed · grandmother's · soul-food
Core elements of something
- basicsFoundational knowledge of something
- coreCentral essential portion
- foundationUnderlying support structure
- essentialsIndispensable items or elements
bread-and-butter · bedrock · groundwork · no-frills · straightforward · practical · down-to-earth · unpretentious
Food that sustains life
- sustenanceMeans of living
- provisionsStockpiled food and supplies
- fareTransport payment
- staplesSmall metal paper-binders
nutrition · protein · filling · robust · substantial · fuel · energy · calories
homestyle
Simply prepared, like family cooking
- heartyWarm and substantial
- fillingMaterial placed within
- satisfyingProducing fulfillment or pleasure
wholesome · nourishing · gravy · roast · stew · casserole · mashed · grandmother's · soul-food · rustic
fundamentals
Core elements of something
- basicsFoundational knowledge of something
- coreCentral essential portion
- foundationUnderlying support structure
essentials · bread-and-butter · bedrock · groundwork · no-frills · straightforward · practical · down-to-earth · unpretentious · plain-spoken
nourishment
Food that sustains life
- sustenanceMeans of living
- provisionsStockpiled food and supplies
- fareTransport payment
staples · nutrition · protein · filling · robust · substantial · fuel · energy · calories · appetite
- food idiomspiece of cake, bread winner, low-hanging fruit, cool as a cucumber, bad egg
- blue collarhard hat, blue collar, blue-collar jobs, factory work, manual labor
- dinner entreessteak dinner, fish and chips, roast dinner, pork chops, chicken dinner
- food pairingsbacon and eggs, bread and butter, burger and fries, cheese and crackers, chips and salsa
- fundamentalsbasics, fundamentals, essentials, foundation, ABCs
- MidwestIndiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota
meat and potatoesfrills
Superfluous decorative elements
bells and whistles · garnishes · extras · trimmings · embellishments
meat and potatoesfancy
Elaborate or decorative
highbrow · refined · sophisticated · pretentious · haute cuisine
meat and potatoesnouvelle cuisine
Lighter contemporary French gastronomy
fusion cuisine · molecular gastronomy · haute cuisine · plant-based · appetizers
meat, potato, meatball, meaty, potatoes, meats, meatballs, meatless, sweet potato