| the essential or basic part: Community service is the meat and potatoes of this program. |
[meet-n-puh-tey-tohz, -tuhz] 
| fundamental; down-to-earth; basic: What are the meat-and-potatoes issues of the election? |
| meat and potatoes pl.n. Informal (used with a sing. or pl. verb) The fundamental parts or part; the basis. |
meat and potatoes
The fundamental part or parts of something, as in This paragraph is the meat and potatoes of the contract. This metaphoric term transfers what some regard as basic fare to the basics of an issue. [Mid-1900s]
