Content-Type: text/shitpost

I wondered:

Does the phrase predate the game of Hot Potato, or did the phrase come after and specifically allude to the game?

The Third Edition of the OED (not the Second) has the answer. Its earliest citation for the phrase is from 1821 (“You prudently drop that subject, as Pat says, ‘like a hot potato.’”) but for the game it only goes back to 1915.

Thanks to Jesse Sheidlower for this information.