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mug's game

American  

noun

  1. a foolish, useless, or ill-advised venture.

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.

You are comparing yourself to others, and that’s a mug’s game.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 14, 2025

“Timing” the stock market historically has been a mug’s game.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2025

Studies also indicate that trying to move deftly from sector to sector is a mug’s game.

From Slate • Feb. 19, 2024

There will be understandable complaints about that, but second-guessing Clarke's mind is a mug's game.

From BBC • Nov. 19, 2023

Oh, because applied science is a mug's game.

From The Judge by West, Rebecca

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.