the second mouse gets the cheese
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.08 in modern English
44
Scrabble Score
27
Letters
4
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
proverb
Others reap the advantages after a first mover absorbs the loss of a first-mover disadvantage.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
- "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."
- ""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."
- "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!"