mickey mouse

American  

adjective

(often initial capital letters)

1. trite and commercially slick in character; corny.

   mickey mouse music.

2. useless, insignificant, or worthless.

   mickey mouse activities just to fill up one's time.

3. trivial or petty.

   mickey mouse regulations.

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Mickey Mouse British  

adjective

1. ineffective; trivial; insignificant

   he settled for a Mickey Mouse job instead of something challenging

2. (of music, esp that of dance bands) mechanical or spiritless

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Mickey Mouse Cultural  

1. A cartoon character created by Walt Disney. Mickey's image is so widespread that he has achieved the status of myth.

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Etymology

Origin of mickey mouse

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