Mickey Mouse

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
The silhouette of Mickey Mouse's head

Etymology

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From Mickey, a diminutive of the given name Michael, + mouse, referring to the species of the character. The name Mickey Mouse was coined by American animator Walt Disney in 1928 after his wife, Lillian Disney, persuaded him to change the character's original name Mortimer Mouse to Mickey, deeming the former too formal for the playful character. "Mickey" was suggested by Lillian, who preferred its more approachable and lively sound.[1]

The adjective sense developed during the Second World War, after a large quantity of low-quality counterfeit Mickey Mouse watches flooded the UK.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Mickey Mouse

  1. The most famous Disney cartoon character, an anthropomorphic mouse with a falsetto voice and a cheerful disposition.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Translations

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Adjective

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Mickey Mouse (not comparable)

  1. (idiomatic) Of inferior quality, poorly-run; too easy to be taken seriously, trivial.
    • 1983 November 21, “Rangers get past Quebec in Overtime”, in Miami Herald:
      "They are putting a Mickey Mouse operation on the ice," added Gretzky, who extended apologies to New Jersey goaltenders Ron Low and Chico Resch.
    • 1991 April 20, CNN_Novak:
      You mean, somebody who, for example, is a retired Army officer, has been teaching, as you do in the Army about half the time for about 30 years, you mean he couldn't go in and teach in the school' cause he didn't take some Mickey Mouse course in education at a state university?
    • 1996 February 11, Dave van Dyck, “Braves, Indians Are Teams to Beat Again; Series Repeat Appears Likely As Camps Open”, in Chicago Sun-Times, SPORTS, page 18:
      California (78-67): This is no Mickey Mouse outfit, even though Disney is buying into the team. / The Angels didn't make many changes in personnel during the winter.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (1998 July 20) “Mickey Mouse ー Cartoon, Creation, Disney, & Facts”, in Encyclopædia Britannica[1], retrieved September 15, 2024

Danish

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Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia da
A Mickey Mouse pin.

Etymology

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1949, from English Mickey Mouse, notably being untranslated unlike this character in other Scandinavian languages.

Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: Mic‧key‧Mouse

Proper noun

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Mickey Mouse

  1. (cartoon) Mickey Mouse (One of the Disney cartoon characters, an anthropomorphic mouse who usually wears red shorts and is known for circular ears.)

Hyponyms

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Portuguese

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Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pt

Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English Mickey Mouse.

Pronunciation

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  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈmi.kej ˈmaw.zi/ [ˈmi.keɪ̯ ˈmaʊ̯.zi]
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈmi.kej ˈmaw.ze/ [ˈmi.keɪ̯ ˈmaʊ̯.ze]
 

Proper noun

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Mickey Mouse m

  1. Mickey Mouse

Spanish

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Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia es

Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English Mickey Mouse.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˌmiki ˈmaus/ [ˌmi.ki ˈmau̯s]
  • IPA(key): /ˌmɪki ˈmaus/ [ˌmɪki ˈmau̯s]
  • Syllabification: Mic‧key Mou‧se

Proper noun

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Mickey Mouse m

  1. Mickey Mouse