Mickey Mouse Operation

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A Mickey Mouse Operation is a derogatory colloquial term for an organisation or a group of people who don't know what they are doing or have no set goals or ideals.

The reasoning behind the term is not certain, but the term "Mickey Mouse" has been used in the U.S. military at least since the earliest days of the Vietnam War. In that context it refers to a job, regulation or operation that is petty, useless or not serious, perhaps evoking the image of a unit being run by the Disney comic character, Mickey Mouse. An example of this can be seen in the motion picture Full Metal Jacket.

A secondary meaning is used to imply that a job or task is easy. It does not have a negative connotation. In fact, it has more of a positive connotation, implying that the job will not take long, and you can quickly move on to something else.

Example of use: The phrase was used on the popular TV show Red Dwarf in reference to actions the crew was taking at the time, the exact quote was Lister: "were a real Micky Mouse Operation aren't we?" Cat: "Micky Mouse? We ain't even Betty Boop!".

Hockey great and then-Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky famously referred to the New Jersey Devils as a Mickey Mouse Operation after beating them 13-4 on November 19, 1983.

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