A House of Cards.
English
idiom
Something fragile that is likely to fail or collapse.
Trusted by1M+English learners & teachers worldwide
Something fragile that is likely to fail or collapse.
Trusted by1M+English learners & teachers worldwide
Something that looks solid but could fall apart at any moment.
A house of cards is built on a shaky base, so one small knock brings it down.
It is used to warn that something rests on too many uncertain things to last.
"Built on Sand"
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Founded on weak or unreliable foundations that will not support long-term stability
"Smoke and Mirrors"
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Something that looks impressive or real but is actually an illusion designed to trick
"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.
