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Glite Dictionary
game of Tetris

game of Tetris

1 4.2
A situation where you try to fit many tasks together, like stacking pieces in a video game
  • noun
: juego de Tetris
  • Trying to pack all my belongings into a small suitcase was a real-life game of Tetris.

Examples

  • She said organizing her schedule felt like playing a game of Tetris every day.

  • Balancing work, family, and hobbies can resemble a never-ending game of Tetris.

  • Life feels like a game of Tetris sometimes.

  • Can you help me with this game of Tetris?

  • Balancing work, family, and hobbies can resemble a never-ending game of Tetris.

  • Trying to fit all the projects into this month feels like a daily game of Tetris.

  • She described managing her tasks at work as a challenging game of Tetris.

Antonyms

chaos
512 3.1

A situation with no order where people are confused and cannot act normally

disorganization
  • US
6 3.8

A lack of order or system that makes things untidy

How Difficult

mission impossible
  • Informal
9 7.2
mammoth task
1 5.9
game of Tetris
1 4.2
puzzle
474 1.9

Surface Forms

game of Tetris singular
games of Tetris plural

Morphology

game + of + Tetris

The phrase literally names the game Tetris (compositional 'game' + 'of' + proper noun), but its figurative meaning — fitting tasks together efficiently — depends on world/cultural knowledge of Tetris mechanics (shapes falling and fitting). Because the metaphor is partially recoverable from the constituents only if the learner knows the game's properties, it is not fully transparent but not wholly idiomatic either.

Etymology

Game of Tetris comes from the simple video game Tetris, where different-shaped blocks fall and you must move and turn them to fill lines without gaps. So calling life a game of Tetris means trying to 'fit' tasks and time together in the best way, just like fitting the blocks to make space.