Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

the second mouse gets the cheese en · X

Etymology

Referring to a mousetrap with cheese as bait: after a mouse is captured in it, another mouse is able to take the cheese.

Meanings

  1. Others reap the advantages after a first mover absorbs the loss of a first-mover disadvantage.
    • BOSTON — Discretion is the better part of valor. Prevention is better than cure. The second mouse gets the cheese. Sometimes, caution is the way to go. So the Knicks have listed Tyson Chandler as “questionable” tonight against the Celtics in Boston. Chandler has missed the last six games, primarily because of a bulging disk in his neck, although he also has battled a bone bruise in his left knee. 2013 March 26, Fred Kerber, “Knicks’ Chandler hoping to play tonight vs. Celtics”, in New York Post, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2025:
    • "There was a saying around here: The second mouse gets the cheese," he [Chris Ford] said of Scotiabank's historic aversion to tech spending. "There's no advantage to being a first mover. 2016 July 22, David Berman, Tim Kiladze, “Shaking up Scotiabank: Brian Porter’s vision for a bank of the future”, in The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON: The Woodbridge Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Sep 2022:
    • Operating on what is often known as the "second mouse gets the cheese" principle, [Mason] Holland appears to be interested in retaining what was valuable about the airplane's design, after the wreck of the original company's finances. 2009 August 20, James Fallows, “More reassuring news: new life for Eclipse?”, in James Bennet, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Nov 2011:
    • Love to see a Haas tucked in behind the Mercedes/Red Bull/McLaren chaos that might unfold when lights go out. Second mouse gets the cheese! 2024 July 6, Patrick Iversen, “F1 British GP live updates: Lewis Hamilton wins amazing race at Silverstone”, in The Athletic, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2025:
    • A product recall later sent his Livonia, Mich., company into bankruptcy. Its remains were sold to a Fargo businessman who moved the business there and later sold it to DaimlerChrysler, just as California's first electric car mandates were looming. "We were the story of how the second mouse gets the cheese," Mr. [Dan] Sturges says. 2007 February 26, John J. Fialka, “Thrifty Electric Car Turns On One Town”, in The Wall Street Journal, New York, N.Y.: Dow Jones & Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Aug 2024: