whack-a-mole

noun

ˈ(h)wak-ə-ˌmōl 

variants or less commonly Whack-A-Mole

plural whack-a-moles also Whack-A-Moles

informal

: a situation in which a new problem appears as soon as an existing similar problem has been addressed

As a teacher, it kind of becomes whack-a-mole when you're trying to get one kid's phone handled and then another kid gets a phone out …

—Sarah Milianta-Laffin, quoted in The Garden Island (Lihue, Hawaii)

Blocking all known VPN and proxy IP addresses is a technical whack-a-mole that likely no company can win. Providers add new IP addresses constantly …

—Rindala Alajaji, quoted at Techdirt.com

a whack-a-mole situation

… it means that most jihadist threats can be constrained by "whack-a-mole" targeting operations … on their soil.

—Tom Rogan

Examples of whack-a-mole in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Tech companies are playing whack-a-mole around the world as their models get up to more hijinks and are used for malicious purposes. — J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

after whac-a-mole

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above