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musical chairs

 - 2 dictionary results

musical chairs

–noun
1. Also called going to Jerusalem. a game in which players march to music around two rows of chairs placed back to back, there being one chair less than the number of players, the object being to find a seat when the music stops abruptly. The player failing to do so is removed from the game, together with one chair, at each interval.
2. Informal. a situation or series of events in which jobs, decisions, prospects, etc., are changed with confusing rapidity.

Origin:
1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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musical chairs  
pl.n.   (used with a sing. verb)
  1. A game in which players walk to music around a group of chairs containing one chair fewer than the number of players and rush to sit down when the music stops. The player left standing in each round is eliminated.

  2. Informal A rearrangement, as of the elements of a problem, having little practical influence or significance.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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