mug's game vs effort

mug's game and effort both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
mug's game	Yes	No	No	No
effort	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, effort is a hypernym of mug's game; that is, effort is a word with a broader meaning than mug's game:

mug's game: a futile or unprofitable endeavor
effort: earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

Other hypernyms of mug's game include attempt, endeavor, endeavour, try.

mug's game (noun)	effort (noun)
a futile or unprofitable endeavor	earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
	use of physical or mental energy; hard work
	a notable achievement
	a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end