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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And our favorite trick is shopping the Better Homes & Gardens Juliet bedroom furniture line at Walmart.—
Carly Totten,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 Feb. 2025 -
The trick is finding the place that aligns with your style.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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There are no gilded gates here, but there is one heck of a party, complete with serenading busts, ballroom dancers, excitable opera singers, drunken buffoonery and portraits locked in an endless duel.—
Todd Martens,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2025
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What’s so special about Britain’s patron wanker of bighearted buffoonery?—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Berger’s Vatican caper lacks the tact and sensitivity in François Ozon’s superb By the Grace of God, even quickly dispensing the repentance of a disgraced African cardinal (Lucian Msamati).—
Armond White,
National Review,
19 Feb. 2025
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The plot follows the titular character’s inadvertent entanglement in a high-stakes espionage caper.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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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
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And yes, there were cases on public roads where the horseplay turned dangerous.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The escapade was rumored to have inspired the film Weekend at Bernie’s (1989).—
Nicole Briese,
People.com,
22 Feb. 2025
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The comic escapades are bolstered by Jean-Michel Bernard’s delectable score, plus ace selections by music supervisor Frédéric Junqua, lending a retro tinge of ’50s-’60s buoyancy and playful suspense.—
Sheri Linden,
The Hollywood Reporter,
20 Feb. 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 Mar. 2025.
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