Mickey Mouse operation
1
8.2
- noun
- /ˈmɪki maʊs ˌɑpəˈreɪʃən/
- UK
:
operación trivial
- After examining the new marketing strategy, I realized it was nothing more than a Mickey Mouse operation.
Examples
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The project turned out to be just a Mickey Mouse operation with no real plan.
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- It's a Mickey Mouse operation.
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Many people consider that startup to be a Mickey Mouse operation because of its lack of professionalism.
Synonyms
A small badly run business or group that seems unimportant
A small, badly run company that seems unimportant
How Professional
Surface Forms
Morphology
Mickey + Mouse + operation
The negative evaluative sense ('trivial, amateurish') is an idiomatic, culturally grounded meaning of the compound 'Mickey Mouse' that is not predictable from the literal words 'Mickey' (a proper name) + 'mouse' (an animal) + 'operation' (organization). Even if a B1 learner knows the constituents and recognizes the cartoon character, they would not reliably infer the derogatory, idiomatic sense without prior exposure or cultural knowledge. This usage is language- and culture-specific rather than compositionally transparent.
Etymology
The phrase Mickey Mouse operation may come from the cartoon character Mickey Mouse, whose name started to mean childish or small. So calling a company a Mickey Mouse operation makes people picture a business or operation like a toy, 'not serious' and 'poorly organized'.