musical chairs
noun, plural in form but singular in constructionDefinition of musical chairs
: a game in which players march to music around a row of chairs numbering one less than the players and scramble for seats when the music stops
also
: a situation or series of events suggesting the game of musical chairs (as in rapid change or confusing activity)
Examples of musical chairs in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As in a game of musical chairs, a decline in spending leaves firms with less revenue to pay salaries, leaving some workers unemployed. — Scott Sumner, Twin Cities, "Scott Sumner: If and when the recession begins, it won’t be Trump’s fault," 23 Aug. 2019 So while few noticed, three guys who grew up around Boston played musical chairs at the highest level of the American military. — Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, "The US military is run by guys from Boston," 12 Aug. 2019 The latest round of gubernatorial musical chairs in Puerto Rico is finally over, but the political unease will definitely linger. — Aj Willingham, CNN, "5 things to know for August 8: Puerto Rico, stabbing rampage, Hong Kong, State Dept," 8 Aug. 2019 The Panthers played musical chairs on the offensive line and that lasted only so long. — Brad Biggs, chicagotribune.com, "Under pressure to win, Ron Rivera shifts the Panthers to the 3-4 defense: ‘I’m going to copy a whole bunch of people. I like what Chicago did.’," 7 Aug. 2019 When John Bolton took over as national security advisor in April 2018, another round in the Trump administration's ongoing game of musical chairs, Bossert resigned after a little over a year on the job. — Andy Greenberg, WIRED, "Trump's Cyber Czar Is Back—and He Wants to Make Hackers Suffer," 29 July 2019 Blige joined the cast and showrunners of Power onstage during the panel, where all the stars proceeded to play musical chairs for their chance to sit next to Blige and hold her hand or give her a hug in a sweet and hilarious moment. — Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, "Mary J. Blige to star in Power's first spin-off series Power Book II: Ghost," 26 July 2019 The game of musical chairs at D.H.S. has given Miller what only two years ago seemed impossible: a department staffed with Stephen Millers. — Jason Zengerle, New York Times, "How America Got to ‘Zero Tolerance’ on Immigration: The Inside Story," 16 July 2019 The rules surrounding Esper’s nomination have helped unleash a dizzying game of musical chairs at the Pentagon and intensified uncertainty in the department’s most senior ranks. — Washington Post, "Pentagon transition plan underscores leadership upheaval," 10 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'musical chairs.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more