hot button

Meanings

1. A central issue, concern or characteristic, especially one that motivates people to make a choice; sometimes also one that people seek to delay taking sides on.
2. The principal desire that a salesman needs to "hit" in order to make a sale.
3. An emotional trigger; something that arouses strong emotion or opinions.

1. Alternative form of hot-button.

Etymology

Registered as a trademark by American sales trainer Jack Lacy in 1956, first used in the 1940s.