a game in which children walk around a group of chairs while music plays. When the music stops they have to sit quickly on a chair, but because there is always one less chair than the number of children, the child that is left standing must leave the game.

figurative It's a game of musical chairs (= a situation in which people change jobs often) as editors move from one newspaper to another. 由于编辑不断从一家报社跳槽到另一家，人员变动像走马灯一样。