as in skullduggery
the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end
had to resort to a certain amount of hanky-panky to sneak away from the house without his dog seeing him
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Recent Examples of hanky-panky
But there was no hanky-panky, and in fact the two couples had dinner together every week for two years after Dirty Dancing wrapped.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
On my ride with Boaz and Javadi, a Waymo operator suddenly joined us on the audio system, not to inform us that hanky-panky is prohibited, but to say that two passengers did not have their seat belts fastened.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024
Any outlier hanky-panky effort by Republicans would be enjoined by the courts based upon solid precedent.
—Jerry Goldfeder, New York Daily News, 24 July 2024
No hanky-panky, no name calling, no twisting of truths, no bull.
—Patrick Wallis, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024
Our inescapable conclusion is that the target of this pitch is being snowed by an acquaintance hoping to climb out of the friend zone for a bout of hanky-panky before moving on.
—Tom Zoellner, SPIN, 21 Feb. 2024
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
On my ride with Boaz and Javadi, a Waymo operator suddenly joined us on the audio system, not to inform us that hanky-panky is prohibited, but to say that two passengers did not have their seat belts fastened.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024
Any outlier hanky-panky effort by Republicans would be enjoined by the courts based upon solid precedent.
—Jerry Goldfeder, New York Daily News, 24 July 2024
No hanky-panky, no name calling, no twisting of truths, no bull.
—Patrick Wallis, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024
Our inescapable conclusion is that the target of this pitch is being snowed by an acquaintance hoping to climb out of the friend zone for a bout of hanky-panky before moving on.
—Tom Zoellner, SPIN, 21 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hanky-panky
Noun
-
The series was loosely inspired by the non-fiction book The Woman Who Fooled the World, written by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, the two journalists who uncovered the details of Gibson’s deception.—
Abid Rahman,
The Hollywood Reporter,
1 Feb. 2025
-
Some users saw deception as the biggest issue, while others questioned whether the wife's stance was fair, given the monetary opportunity.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
This sequence introduces The Agency as a maze of contradictory nationalist motivations, paranoia-inducing surveillance, and prevalent subterfuge — and, in its hidden center, a love story.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2025
-
Using a figurehead Then again, Trump might just want to avoid all of these legal subterfuges by following the example of George and Lurleen Wallace.—
Philip Klinkner,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Obviously, such a system is rife with uncertainty, and the history of the process is full of skulduggery, both on the club and player side.—
Tony Blengino,
Forbes,
13 Jan. 2025
-
Climax became the first ever vegan cheesemaker to win a prestigious Good Food award—though dairy complaints caused the prize to be rescinded at the last minute, with shades of the protectionist, legal skulduggery faced by non-dairy milk products.—
Andrew Rosenblum,
Popular Science,
26 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
There’s still a lot of baseball chicanery to take place over the next few months, though.—
Grant Brisbee,
The Athletic,
18 July 2024
-
The eternal fight for liberty — slaves into gladiators, gladiators into free men — calls for courage and purpose beyond Lucius’s nightmarish expectations, uncovering the treachery and chicanery of Roman politics.—
Armond White,
National Review,
6 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
This would be immediately followed by my dad standing up, racing over to my uncle, and sometimes grabbing him by the collar to stop him from completing an action that in their eyes seemed to be an act of utter betrayal and treachery.—
Wayne Chan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Jan. 2025
-
Welcome back for another season full of [Alan Cumming voice] deception, backstabbing and treachery!—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
9 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Garcia is quick and adept at carrying the ball into dangerous areas, with his trickery opening space for others to exploit.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
The Athletic,
21 Jan. 2025
-
In the human realm, at least, equating cuckoldry solely with trickery and the cuckolded as weak and foolish is inaccurate.—
Brooke Scelza,
Scientific American,
19 Sep. 2024
Noun
-
The lack of a definitive pronouncement of a starter ahead of the game was likely a move of gamesmanship to keep Atlanta preparing for two quarterbacks.—
Vic Tafur,
The Athletic,
16 Dec. 2024
-
The play might have worked; but an evidentiary hearing, like a showdown in a game of poker, is where gamesmanship collides with the facts and at its conclusion, all the bluffs are called and the cards lie face up.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Staff are advised to communicate specific allergens rather than divulging entire ingredient lists, maintaining both safety and proprietary secrecy.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
4 Feb. 2025
-
The deal happened in almost total secrecy, The Times first hearing rumors of the Lakers and the Mavericks working together on something from a rival executive on Thursday night.—
Houston Mitchell,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hanky-panky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hanky-panky. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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