whack-a-mole
to fail to solve a problem
TRANSLATION
whack-a-mole = die Sisyphusarbeit whack-a-mole = eine ständig zu wiederholende fruchtlose Tätigkeit --- GOOGLE INDEX whack-a-mole: approximately 450,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Unless we see an increased focus on the creation of positive counter-messages to engage directly with extremist narratives online, the government will find itself in a game of extremist WHACK-A-MOLE.
(BBC News)
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The problem with trying to shut down individual internet sites is that it simply becomes an unwinnable game of WHACK-A-MOLE.
(The Guardian)
(BBC News)
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The problem with trying to shut down individual internet sites is that it simply becomes an unwinnable game of WHACK-A-MOLE.
(The Guardian)
Did you
know?
whack-a-mole
idiom
- a situation in which attempts to solve a problem insufficient or superficial, resulting only in temporary or minor improvement
(Oxford Dictionary)
---
The expression whack-a-mole stems from the arcade game of the same name. Sometimes written as Whac-A-Mole, the game consists of a large cabinet with five holes in the top and a large, soft, black mallet. Each hole contains a single plastic mole and the machinery necessary to move it up and down.
Once the game starts, the moles begin to pop up from their holes at random. The object is to force the individual moles back into their holes by hitting them directly on the head with the mallet, thereby adding to the player's score. The quicker this is done the higher the final score will be.
In a figurative sense, whack-a-mole refers to the practice of trying to stop something that persistently occurs (like moles popping out of holes) in an apparently random manner at the point where the occurrence is noticed.
Situations that can be aptly described as whack-a-mole include trying to stop spam e-mail, battling product piracy and fighting terrorism, all of which are good examples of problems that often appear somewhere else after you think they have been solved.
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Let's stop trying to solve this problem, it's like whacking-a-mole."
---
Thanks to Johannes for suggesting today's word!
idiom
- a situation in which attempts to solve a problem insufficient or superficial, resulting only in temporary or minor improvement
(Oxford Dictionary)
---
The expression whack-a-mole stems from the arcade game of the same name. Sometimes written as Whac-A-Mole, the game consists of a large cabinet with five holes in the top and a large, soft, black mallet. Each hole contains a single plastic mole and the machinery necessary to move it up and down.
Once the game starts, the moles begin to pop up from their holes at random. The object is to force the individual moles back into their holes by hitting them directly on the head with the mallet, thereby adding to the player's score. The quicker this is done the higher the final score will be.
In a figurative sense, whack-a-mole refers to the practice of trying to stop something that persistently occurs (like moles popping out of holes) in an apparently random manner at the point where the occurrence is noticed.
Situations that can be aptly described as whack-a-mole include trying to stop spam e-mail, battling product piracy and fighting terrorism, all of which are good examples of problems that often appear somewhere else after you think they have been solved.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Let's stop trying to solve this problem, it's like whacking-a-mole."
---
Thanks to Johannes for suggesting today's word!
