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
Doesn't necessarily have the belittling connotations of mainstream slang "Oh, that's just mickey mouse stuff!"; sometimes trivial programs can be very useful. :micro-: /pref./
From The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0, 24 Jul 1996 by Raymond, Eric S.
If I talked like Mickey Mouse, the thin breathiness that plagued my voice went away.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
A sighting of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., chatting with Mickey Mouse, wand in hand, felt almost cathartic.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026
The three-year deal allowed Sora users to create AI videos with Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Yoda from Star Wars.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
Its massive success launched Mickey Mouse and Disney to global stardom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
I stare at the glow of the Mickey Mouse night-light.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
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.
