Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun idiomatic The practice of trying to stop something that
persistently occurs in an apparentlyrandom manner at the point where theoccurrence isnoticed , such as terminating spammers’ e-mail accounts or closing pop-up advertisement windows.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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That process, which some advocacy groups have referred to as "whack-a-mole," is costly for both sides, Warren said.
New studies show changes to credit cards after landmark law 2011
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Part of this 'whack-a-mole' practice is broader human tradition.
Matthis Chiroux: The Wisdom and Power of a Leaderless Resistance Matthis Chiroux 2011
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Slapping down baseless smears and accusations of antisemitism from TNR, is a thankless game of whack-a-mole.
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Abroad, Mr. Bagley compared U.S. efforts to a massive game of whack-a-mole in which drug supplies, drug violence and crime are "shuffled from one country to the other."
Panel Calls War on Drugs a Failure Jose de Cordoba 2011
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And the investors will not show their heads as long as Barry is wielding the whack-a-mole hammer.
White House steadfast on pledge of no middle-class tax increase 2009
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This also creates a whack-a-mole game between speculators and the government as liquidity shifts from one asset class to another.
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The problem, as others have pointed out, is that naming certain banned activities is a game of whack-a-mole.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Help Draft the Federalism Restoration Amendment 2010
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Mr. Assad's forces appear to be increasingly resorting to a brutal game of whack-a-mole by relying on increasingly heavy weaponry, said Andrew Tabler, a Syrian expert at the Washington Institute for Near Policy, referring to the carnival game where players bash a mole which rears its head from one hole, only to see it pop up from another.
U.S. Steps Up Pressure to Oust Assad Charles Levinson 2012
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You can play whack-a-mole with this stuff all day.
Column: The Republican war on the CBO Ezra Klein 2011
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The fragmented, fractured media is, of course, partly to blame, as Obama finds himself playing whack-a-mole to every manufactured 24-hour news drama that erupts from someone's latest Twitter message or blog post.
Keep it simple, Obama Jena McGregor 2010
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