The third rail of a nation's politics is a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

for any issue so

controversial Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite ...

that it is "charged" and "untouchable" to the extent that any politician or public official who dares to broach the subject will invariably suffer politically. The metaphor comes from the high-voltage

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

in some

electric railway A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), ...

systems. Touching a third rail can result in

electrocution Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...

, so usage of the metaphor in political situations relates to the risk of "political suicide" that a person would face by raising certain taboo subjects or having points of view that are either censored, shunned or considered highly controversial or offensive to advocate or even mention. It is most commonly used in North America. Though commonly attributed to

Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, representing northern Boston, Massachusetts, as ...

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the ...

from 1977 to 1987, it seems to have been coined by O'Neill aide Kirk O'Donnell in 1982 in reference to

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

American examples of usage

A wide range of issues might be claimed detrimental to politicians tackling them, but those below have all been ''explicitly'' described using the "third rail" metaphor: * Withdrawal of

and Medicare benefits * Debate of race issues * Antidumping and

countervailing duty {{Trade bloc Countervailing duties (CVDs), also known as anti-subsidy duties, are trade import duties imposed under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to neutralize the negative effects of subsidies. They are imposed after an investigation finds ...

withdrawal * Opposition to

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

for rape victims * Resuming the draft * National content policy in export finance * The role that

gifted education Gifted education (also known as gifted and talented education (GATE), talented and gifted programs (TAG), or G/T education) is a broad group of special practices, procedures, and theories used in the education of children who have been identified a ...

plays in modern public school segregation * Debate about the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict Israelis ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵלִים‎, translit=Yīśrāʾēlīm; ar, الإسرائيليين, translit=al-ʾIsrāʾīliyyin) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Je ...

and U.S. support for Israel *Debate about mass immigration and " White Replacement" *Diverting water from the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

to the Southwest * Guns, including semi-automatic weapons and child safety locks. * California's Proposition 13 on property tax

Outside the U.S.

Argentina

*The

Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute Sovereignty over the Falkland Islands ( es, Islas Malvinas) is disputed by Argentina and the United Kingdom. The British claim to sovereignty dates from 1690, when they made the first recorded landing on the islands, and the United Kingdom has ...

Australia

* Policies to address

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

Canada

* Reforming or privatizing

public health care Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are se ...

* Reforming or privatizing the

Canada Pension Plan The Canada Pension Plan (CPP; french: Régime de pensions du Canada) is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. It forms one of the two major components of Canada's public retirement income system, the other component being Old ...

* Amending the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...

Germany

* Introducing a

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expre ...

on Autobahns

India

*The introduction of

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

for agricultural income

United Kingdom

* Drug policy * Reform of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

Social care Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

* West Lothian question

China

*Questioning the

political status of Taiwan The controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan or the Taiwan issue is a result of World War II, the second phase of the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949), and the Cold War. The basic issue hinges on who the islands of Taiwan, Peng ...

*Advocating

Hong Kong independence Hong Kong independence is a political movement that advocates the establishment of Hong Kong as an independent sovereign state. Hong Kong is one of two Special administrative regions of China (SAR) which enjoys a certain degree of autono ...

*Any of the issues affected by official censorship in China *Questioning internet censorship by the Great Firewall *Mention of or related events of the

1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourt ...

*Mention of the

Uyghur genocide The Chinese government has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang that is often characterized as genocide. Since 2014, the Chinese government, under t ...

Xinjiang internment camps The Xinjiang internment camps, officially called vocational education and training centers ( zh, 职业技能教育培训中心, Zhíyè jìnéng jiàoyù péixùn zhōngxīn) by the government of China, are internment camps operated b ...

*Mention of the

Persecution of Falun Gong The persecution of Falun Gong is the antireligious campaigns in China, antireligious campaign initiated in 1999 by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to eliminate the spiritual practice of Falun Gong in China, maintaining a doctrine of state ...

*Mention of the

East Turkestan independence movement The East Turkestan independence movement ( ug, شەرقىي تۈركىستان مۇستەقىللىق ھەرىكىتى; zh, s=东突厥斯坦独立运动) is a political movement that seeks the independence of East Turkestan, a large and spa ...

Singapore

The term OB marker ("out of bounds marker", a golf term) is widely used in Singapore for forbidden topics, such as: *

Homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

Corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

*The Sedition Act makes it illegal to "promote feelings of ill-will or hostility between different races or classes of the population".

International politics

*The

political status of Crimea Politically, Crimea is recognized as part of Ukraine by almost all members of the international community. After the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, Russian troops were deployed to occupy Crimea and took over its government buildings.Political metaphors 1982 neologisms