mickey mouse
adjective (often initial capital letters) Informal.
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.
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Origin of mickey mouse
First recorded in 1930–35; after the animated cartoon character created by Walt Disney, orig. with reference to the banal dance-band music played as background to the cartoons
Words nearby mickey mouse
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for mickey mouse
Mickey Mouse
adjective (sometimes not capitals) slang
ineffective; trivial; insignificanthe settled for a Mickey Mouse job instead of something challenging
mainly US and Canadian (of music, esp that of dance bands) mechanical or spiritless
Word Origin for Mickey Mouse
C20: from the name of a cartoon character created by Walt Disney, known for his simple-minded attitudes
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for mickey mouse
Mickey Mouse
A cartoon character created by Walt Disney. Mickey's image is so widespread that he has achieved the status of myth.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.