monkey business
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
monkey business
- /ˈmʌŋkɪ ˌbɪznɪs/ UK
- /-nɪz/ UK
- [-nəs] UK
- [-nəz] UK
- /ˈmʌŋki ˌbɪznɪs/ US
- /ˈməŋ-/ US
- /-nɪz/ US
- [-nəs] US
- [-nəz] US
Where it comes from
From monkey + business, probably a calque of Bengali বাঁদরামি (bãdrami, “mischief”, literally “monkey-behaviour”), from বাঁদর (bãdor, “monkey”) + -আমি (-ami, suffix forming nouns referring to the properties, qualities, or states of the words to which it is attached), from the perception that monkeys behave mischievously.
noun
-
Activity that is mischievous, stupid, or time-wasting.
Stop all this monkey business and do your homework!
Similar: badness, delinquincy, devilishness, devilment, devilry, deviltry, elfishness, goings-on, hanky-panky, impishness, impropriety, knavery
-
Activity that is morally questionable or even mildly illegal.
She wondered what sort of monkey business her neighbour was up to, sneaking out of his house at 1:00 am.
Similar: hanky-panky, bad manners, badness, delinquency, devilishness, devilment, devilry, deviltry, disobedience, elfishness, goings-on, impishness
Translations
Every language
noun activity that is mischievous, stupid, or time-wasting
| Español | diabluras, monada, monería, travesuras |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 허튼짓 heoteunjit |
| 日本語 | 悪戯 itazura |
| 中文 | 惡作劇 /恶作剧 èzuòjù, 鬼名堂 guǐmíngtáng, 胡鬧 /胡闹 húnào |
| Français | bêtise, espièglerie, macaquerie, singerie |
| Deutsch | Affengeschäft, Affentheater, Allotria |
| Italiano | roba da matti, scimmiata |
| Română | maimuțărie |
| Русский | безобра́зие bezobrázije, озорство́ ozorstvó, ша́лость šálostʹ, шко́да škóda |
noun activity that is morally questionable or even mildly illegal
| Español | chanchullos, juego sucio, trapicheos |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | いんちき, インチキ inchiki, 裏工作 urakōsaku |
| 中文 | 灰色產業 /灰色产业 huīsè chǎnyè, 灰產 /灰产 huīchǎn |
| Русский | хи́трости xítrosti |
Talk about this word "monkey business." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/monkey%20business. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. monkey business. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/monkey%20business "monkey business." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/monkey%20business.Cite this
@misc{monkey_business_2026,
title = {monkey business},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/monkey%20business},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
