mug's game
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of mug's game
First recorded in 1905–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Interpreting stock market returns as snapshots of the economy is a mug’s game.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
You are comparing yourself to others, and that’s a mug’s game.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 14, 2025
Predictions, then, are a mug’s game - and here is your mug.
From BBC • Aug. 3, 2024
Predicting the outcome of national elections can be a mug's game.
From Salon • Jan. 2, 2023
"I know that game," he said, "and it's a mug's game."
From Dubliners by Joyce, James
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.
