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Glite Dictionary
🤢 Stomach problem 💥 Emotional topic
gut issue

gut issue

7.7
A topic that makes people feel strong emotions
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : tema sensible
  • The candidate tried to turn economic policy into a gut issue that would mobilize passionate supporters.

Examples

  • Climate change became a gut issue after several devastating hurricanes hit the coast.

  • Abortion has always been a gut issue for many voters on both sides of the debate.

  • This is a serious gut issue.

  • Abortion is a divisive gut issue!

  • Abortion has always been a gut issue for many voters, provoking strong emotions about the topic.

  • Climate change became a gut issue after several devastating hurricanes, stirring deep emotional responses from the public.

  • The candidate attempted to frame economic inequality as a gut issue to engage voters on an emotional level.

Synonyms

hot-button issue
vsgut issue
14 4.7

An issue that makes people feel very strongly and leads to angry debate

provokes instinctive, personal reactions rather than logical public argument

How Emotional

gut issue
  • Informal
7.7

Surface Forms

gut issue singular
gut issues plural

Morphology

gut + issue

This is a transparent compositional noun phrase: 'gut' (the digestive organs/stomach) + 'issue' (a problem) yields a problem of the digestive system. The sense is directly derivable from the constituents and matches common cross-linguistic patterns for '[body-part] issue', so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand it.

Etymology

Gut issue comes from the idea of the gut as the place of quick, instinctive feelings. So if something is a 'gut issue' people react with 'strong feeling' or instinct rather than careful thought.