Words at Play : A Thoughtful Guide to Words About Nonsense
Definition:
: pranks; mischievous or questionable tricks or pranks; monkey business
Example:
"NBC halts Olympics for promotional monkeyshines" – headline, Times Free Press.com (Chattanooga, TN), August 13, 2012
About the Word:
It's easy to see the playful monkey in monkeyshines, but what about shine? That word can also mean "a stupid trick" or "a silly caper" – and is usually used in the plural form when it does.
More Words at Play
