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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If not, there will be a new game released tomorrow with another chance to guess the categories, and Newsweek will be back with more tips and tricks to help you along!—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025 -
What Dangerous or Tricky People Might Do Ruda says kids should recognize common tricks that dangerous or tricky person might use to catch them off guard.—
Sherri Gordon,
Parents,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
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His is a sort of erudite buffoonery that consistently tap-dances between clever, self-aware, and patently stupid.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2025
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There is, in fact, real stagecraft along with the buffoonery.—
Susan B. Glasser,
The New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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At the domestic box office, Snow White was followed by Steven Soderbergh's spy caper Black Bag, which took in a meager $4.4 million in its second week of release for a $14.8 million total.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
23 Mar. 2025
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Much like Kiryu's spy caper, Pirate Yakuza takes what would be tangential in the main series — a whacky combat arena — and centers a plot around it.—
James Perkins Mastromarino,
NPR,
14 Mar. 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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Key speeches are faithfully delivered to an audience of two, not thousands; a scene of soldiers destructively revelling on a bridge is given a different spirit by ironic, out-of-time horseplay.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
8 Feb. 2025
Noun
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There’s a legion of YouTubers and TikTokers, who chronicle their day-to-day challenges and escapades while living out of their cars and vans.—
Martha Ross,
The Mercury News,
15 Mar. 2025
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But predictably, this escapade proves to be a distraction from, rather than a solution to, their real problem.—
Tomris Laffly,
Variety,
14 Mar. 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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Theo James and Theo James are getting into some serious monkey business.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
12 Aug. 2024
Noun
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Editor’s picks Looked at in the context of Lynch’s larger career — among the most remarkable in film history, but also among the most idiosyncratic — such wide-sweeping popularity almost feels like a practical joke by the universe on David Lynch, or perhaps vice versa.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
16 Jan. 2025
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Some guessed that excessive Taser incidents could be officers fiddling with the weapons out of boredom or sparking them as a practical joke.—
Nate Rosenfield,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 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 3 Apr. 2025.
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