English Explanatory Dictionary

whack-a-mole

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A situation where problems or tasks keep reappearing repeatedly.
  2. A strategy of addressing recurrent, unpredictable problems in a piecemeal, temporary way at their point of emergence.

Pronunciation

/ˈwæk.əˌməʊl/ /ˈʍæk.əˌməʊl/ /ˈwæk.əˌmoʊl/ /ˈʍæk.əˌmoʊl/ En-au-whack-a-mole.ogg

Word forms

whack-a-mole whack-a-moles Whac-A-Mole

Etymology

From whack + a + mole (“a small, burrowing, insect-eating mammal of the family Talpidae”), 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 coined 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 (Mogura Taiji, literally “Mole Extermination”).

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