whack-a-mole
(idiomatic, chiefly, Canada, US) A strategy of addressing recurrent, unpredictable problems in a piecemeal, temporary way at their point of emergence.
Etymology timeline
Born ~1977 · 1 year of recorded useSeen in the wild
Much better! Only problem is a lot of the previous issues there have just moved to the BRT lines. It’s like playing whack-a-mole.
Bay Area RV homeless whack-a-mole finally sees crackdown as cities reach breaking point
European whack-a-mole. Тамън едните(Унгария) решат да махнат про-руските тъпаци, другите(България, Румъния) решат да направят мизерия. uk.news.yahoo.com/romanias-pro...
Definitions
(idiomatic, chiefly, Canada, US) A strategy of addressing recurrent, unpredictable problems in a piecemeal, temporary way at their point of emergence.
Identify a challenge. Put your shoulder into it. Make it go away. Just as it disappears, whoops, here comes another one. It's like a game of whack-a-mole. Trust me, you'll never run out of quarters.
“European whack-a-mole. Тамън едните(Унгария) решат да махнат про-руските тъпаци, другите(България, Румъния) решат да направят мизерия. uk.news.yahoo.com/romanias-pro...”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(idiomatic, chiefly, Canada, US) A situation where problems or tasks keep reappearing repeatedly.
Trying to get rid of spam e-mails is like whack-a-mole: as soon as you delete one, another appears.
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