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.
They would go on to work together at the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, where Iwerks designed and animated “Plane Crazy,” the first Mickey Mouse cartoon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 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
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
Was the man with his finger on the trigger of rockets and bombs pointed at the United States really getting this upset over not meeting Mickey Mouse?
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
