trite and commercially slick in character; corny.
mickey mouse music.
useless, insignificant, or worthless.
mickey mouse activities just to fill up one's time.
trivial or petty.
mickey mouse regulations.
ineffective; trivial; insignificant
he settled for a Mickey Mouse job instead of something challenging
(of music, esp that of dance bands) mechanical or spiritless
First recorded in 1930–35; after the animated cartoon character created by Walt Disney, originally with reference to the banal dance-band music played as background to the cartoons
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was reportedly wearing jeans and a mickey mouse shirt when he escaped.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 14, 2016
I need you to perform at her party with specifically a minnie mouse dead-mow-five head… not a mickey mouse dead-mow-five head.
From Time ● Mar. 2, 2016
"There's no economy in the world can grow and provide public services with air, you know, it's mickey mouse economics."
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2015
I think what is happening from a public point of view looks a bit mickey mouse and that is not good for the reputation of the university.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2011
It has been suggested that the `disney' will become a benchmark unit for animation graphics performance. :mickey mouse program: n.
From The Jargon File, Version 2.9.10, 01 Jul 1992 by Raymond, Eric S.
Then again, there was a recent rodent infestation in a concession stand, painting even the best parts of their operation as Mickey Mouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
If I talked like Mickey Mouse, the thin breathiness that plagued my voice went away.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
While Clarke might not want to hear of Andy Robertson running around in Mickey Mouse ears, downtime is a priority for the head coach and his staff, who will be "encouraging their freedom".
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
The three-year agreement allowed users of the AI application to create videos using popular Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Simba from “The Lion King.”
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 25, 2026
There they cooked and cleaned and stitched Mickey Mouse dolls and baseballs, working twelve to fourteen hours a day.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
