pyramid scheme
A fraudulent investment scheme where participants recruit new members to pay earlier investors, named after the rapid multiplication of mice. Often used in legal and consumer warning contexts.
Pyramid schemes are prohibited by law.
He was invited by a friend to join a pyramid scheme but refused.
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling.
Katakana variant of the animal part; also common.
Rarely used kanji form; the kanji 鼠 is not standard for this word.
Compound of ねずみ (mouse/rat) and 講 (association/group), referring to the rapid, mouse-like multiplication of participants in a pyramid scheme.