whack-a-mole

ˈwæk.əˌməʊl

2 definitions

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#1·3h ago

(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.

Origin: From , from the arcade game Whac-A-Mole which involves quickly and repeatedly hitting the heads of mechanical moles with a mallet as they pop up from holes. The name of the arcade game was in 1977 when it was first sold in the United States; the original game released in Japan in 1975 was called モグラ退治. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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#2·3h ago

(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.

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