A House of Cards.
English
idiom
Something fragile that is likely to fail or collapse.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
Something fragile that is likely to fail or collapse.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
A structure or situation that looks impressive but is fragile and likely to collapse at any moment.
A house of cards is built on unstable foundations and can come crashing down with the slightest disruption.
It is used to warn that something relies on too many uncertain factors to be sustainable.
"Built on Sand"
—
Founded on weak or unreliable foundations that will not support long-term stability
"Smoke and Mirrors"
—
Something that looks impressive or real but is actually an illusion designed to deceive
"A House of Cards"
—
Something that appears solid but is dangerously fragile and likely to collapse
The whole plan depends on three things going perfectly — if any one fails, we're in trouble.
You're right — we have a house of cards here. Let's build in some contingencies.
The relationship sounds like a lot of effort just to keep things together.
It kind of is — it feels like a house of cards sometimes.
Do you think the economy could really collapse the way some people are saying?
Parts of it are a house of cards — when trust goes, things unravel fast.
