1
as in hijinks
usually monkeyshines plural
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
hockey players who are known for their monkeyshines on and off the ice
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in trick
usually monkeyshines plural
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
on the alert for paleontological monkeyshines ever since the unmasking of Piltdown man
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monkeyshine
Noun
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However, there is a trick for using both of these operations together.—
Paul Smith-Goodson,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025 -
Thalberg was a wunderkind, and one of the tricks of being a wunderkind is to leverage a youthful aura—selling the Kind to increase the Wunder.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
Noun
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The other person who spoke in South Carolina, Tim Walz, is a special mixture of extreme buffoonery and a mean spirit, which is a toxic brew.—
Jenny Goldsberry,
The Washington Examiner,
1 June 2025
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Certainly hope none of you will be complicit in this buffoonery.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
23 May 2025
Noun
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That his efforts take the form of a hectic period caper, packed to the gills with big-name stars and eye-catching set pieces, calls to mind The Grand Budapest Hotel, too.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
7 June 2025
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The carpaccio was an umami-bomb with egg yolk emulsion, pickled mustard seeds, briny capers and crispy shallots, gilded with tiny edible flowers.—
Brock Keeling,
Oc Register,
3 June 2025
Noun
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The action anime feature for everyone who couldn’t get enough of the horseplay in The Two Towers has finally cantered onto Max.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
1 Mar. 2025
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Mike Vrabel’s back And the horseplay is going to stop, apparently.—
Josh Kendall,
The Athletic,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The legend of Casanova, the 18th-century Venetian adventurer known for his romantic escapades, includes stories of him consuming dozens of oysters for breakfast to enhance his amorous energy.—
Tribune Content Agency,
Mercury News,
27 May 2025
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The only thing Trump's administration did with this escapade was to tarnish our image abroad and at home.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 May 2025
Noun
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The brand’s monkey business button-up collared shirt was worn by Blackpink’s Lisa in one of the opening scenes of the premiere episode.—
Julia Teti,
WWD,
19 Feb. 2025
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No side bets with them or other monkey business!—
Brady Dale,
Axios,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Suffice to say, not since Squidward Tentacles celebrated April Fool’s Day has a practical joke gone so outrageously far.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
23 May 2025
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The doctors, nurses, administrators and soldiers found a way to invoke humor through practical jokes to make their mission abroad bearable.—
Rachel Flynn,
People.com,
10 May 2025
Noun
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Tirhakah Love is a senior writer at New York Magazine and the host of the new evening newsletter Dinner Party, a daily email that touches on all things entertainment — that means film, television, music, tech, and gaming — plus politics and corporate clownery.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2022
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The Winx Club live action is a big clownery!—
Olivia Truffaut-Wong,
refinery29.com,
25 Jan. 2021
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Cite this Entry
“Monkeyshine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkeyshine. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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