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

“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

If you look at Hasbro’s earnings, everything seems like child’s play.

From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026

I don’t think it would work; I think it would make the invasion of Iraq look like child’s play.

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2026

"This is not child's play, and we can pray for good health, but also recognize that if you're not in good enough health to do the job, you shouldn't be doing the job," he added.

From BBC • May 19, 2025

It would be a cold night in the Wood, but in the morning the tracks of the deer would be clear and sharp, and it would be child’s play to uncover them.

From "Ash" by Malinda Lo