house of cards

American  

noun

1. a structure or plan that is insubstantial and subject to imminent collapse, as a structure made by balancing playing cards against each other.

   The scheme is so overly complicated that it's likely to prove to be just another house of cards.

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house of cards British  

noun

1. a tiered structure created by balancing playing cards on their edges

2. an unstable situation, plan, etc

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house of cards Idioms  

1. A weak and fragile structure, plan, or organization, as in Her scheme to reorganize the school sounds like another house of cards, or Jerry built his entire business on what turned out to be a house of cards. This metaphoric expression alludes to the structure made by balancing playing cards against one another. [First half of 1600s]

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Etymology

Origin of house of cards

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Both share one house of cards that works on paper.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Let’s hope that we can knock over that house of cards with peace walks and other forms of calm, resolute resistance.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

Every time OpenAI wants to spend money, Windsor said, it needs to raise money — “and it only takes one investment round to go badly for the whole house of cards to fall.”

From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026

This week: Volatility in the Japanese bond market is threatening the global trade house of cards.

From Slate • Jan. 31, 2026

Buildings fell like wounded dinosaurs; others collapsed like a house of cards.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Related Words

• chiffon
• decrepit
• feeble
• insubstantial
• rickety
• shaky
• tacky