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
In North America this might be called a mickey mouse program.
From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.
“We were in our teens coming down to New York on the train or on the bus to audition for things, like ‘The Mickey Mouse Club,’” he told the outlet.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Recalling the surprise on Christmas Day, Emma said Sienna, her sister Amelia, 12, and their six cousins found out about the trip through a letter from Mickey Mouse.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
If I talked like Mickey Mouse, the thin breathiness that plagued my voice went away.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
Think of it as Disney, Berman says, but Mickey Mouse is the director, producer and distributor, in addition to being the star.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
She told everybody she wanted a Mickey Mouse watch.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
