child's play

American  

noun

1. something very easily done.

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child's play British  

noun

1. informal something that is easy to do

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child's play Idioms  

1. Something easily done, a trivial matter. For example, Finding the answer was child's play for Robert, or The fight we had was child's play compared to the one I had with my mother! Originating in the early 1300s as child's game, the idiom was already used in its present form by Chaucer in The Merchant's Tale: “It is no child's play to take a wife.”

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Etymology

Origin of child's play

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

Antrópolis,” which was written in 2019, may not seem like child’s play.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

That sounds encouraging, but meeting those forecasts won’t be child’s play.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

“They’re about to miss another payment. This is going to look like child’s play, what’s happening right now,” Duffy said.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026

"The crowd was child's play compared to Bethpage," said the Yorkshireman, referring to the treatment handed out to Europe's players at last September's Ryder Cup in New York.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026

He would be mere child’s play for them.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller