a domino effect

domino effect

A phenomenon in which an initial event causes a series of other related events to occur, much like the sequence seen in toppling dominos; a chain reaction. The convenience store's decision to stop selling tobacco products caused a domino effect throughout the industry, leading other chains to quickly follow suit. When I took one book out of the bookcase, it caused a domino effect, causing all of the others to topple over.
See also: domino, effect
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

a domino effect

COMMON A domino effect is a situation where one event causes a series of similar events. The accident created a domino effect, causing about 10 other bikes to crash and injuring 14 other people. Unused houses deteriorate rapidly, affecting the value of nearby homes; in a domino effect, the entire neighborhood can easily fall victim. Note: This expression was first used in the 1950s by an American political commentator to describe what some people thought would happen if one country in a region became Communist: they believed that the other countries in that area would also `fall' to the Communists. The image is of a row of upright dominoes (= small, rectangular games pieces with different numbers of dots on them); if one falls, it knocks the next one over and so on, until all of them have fallen over.
See also: domino, effect
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
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References in periodicals archive ?
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If the disturbances in Syria reach the point of country's breakup, or terrorist forces control Syria, or if the two cases happen, then this will immediately spill over into neighbouring countries first, and later there will be a domino effect that will reach countries across the Middle East, he added.
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Agnelli said a domino effect could result if John Kerry is appointed by President Obama to one of the cabinet positions that are already open or will open in January at the beginning of the president's new four-year term.
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Because we would soon have a domino effect," said the chancellor.
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David Thomson, chief executive of Close Invoice Finance, said: "Simply, this means one company's financial downfall can mean bad debt has a domino effect and will precipitate another business' collapse." The poll also found that more than three in five were not insured against clients defaulting on their payments.
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"In New York, it's such a tight market, that if a tenant holds over in its space it has a domino effect on a lot of other parties," Jadwin said.
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