shenanigan

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shenanigan

/ʃɪˈnænɪɡ(ə)n/ UK
/ʃəˈnænəɡən/ US

Where it comes from

The origin of the noun is uncertain. As the earliest attestations are from California, U.S.A., in the 1850s towards the end of the California gold rush (see the quotations), it is possible that the word derives from one of the following:

* Irish sionnachuighim (“to play tricks”, literally “to play the fox”); Irishmen were among the people participating in the gold rush. (See also the 31 December 1854 quotation suggesting it is an “Irish word”.)

* Spanish chanada, a shortening of charranada (“deceit, trick”); California was colonized by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century, and many people from Latin America also took part in the gold rush.

Other suggestions are set out in the table below.

possible etymologies

* From the East Anglian dialectal word nannicking (“playing the fool”).

* From French ces manigances (“these fraudulent schemes”).

* From German Scheinheilige (“sham holy men; sham holy actions”), scheinheilig (“hypocritical”) (18th c.)

* From Rhine Franconian schinägeln (“to work hard”), from the peddler’s argot term Schenigelei (“work”).

The verb is derived from the noun.

noun shenanigans

countable, in plural, informal, singular singular of shenanigans: a deceitful confidence trick; also, an act of mischief; a prank, a trick; an act of mischievous play, especially by children. I spotted his next shenanigan—saw it coming—and so avoided being fooled.
Similar: caper, capriccio, curvet, gag, gambade, high jinks, lark, marlock, monkeyshine, practical joke, prank, prat
dated, informal, rare, uncountable Dishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous activities or behaviour; skulduggery, trickery; also, mischievous behaviour or play; high jinks. One of Professor [John] Moon's most astonishing "experiments," consisted of holding a watch suspended from a short chain at arm's length, and allowing anyone in the pit to pull pistol and "blaze away" at the word "fire," whereupon the watch would most unconscionably disappear. An individual who had

verb shenanigans · shenaniganing · shenaniganning · shenaniganed · shenaniganned

informal, transitive To play a deceitful confidence trick on (someone); to swindle, to trick; also, to carry out an act of mischief on (someone); to prank. The habit of "shenaniganing" has become so disgracefully common at Union college that some of the right minded students have passed resolutions condemning the practice in unqualified terms. We are happy to inform the friends of Michigan University that this unmusical word, which, translated means th
informal, intransitive To play a deceitful confidence trick; also, to carry out an act of mischief. Then after much shenaniganing around over a period of several weeks […] we came into the committee room after this "night study" which I understand too place, and some of the Members had the bill we are now considering in a mimeographed form and some of us did not have it.

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MLA

"shenanigan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shenanigan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

shenanigan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shenanigan

Chicago

"shenanigan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shenanigan.

BibTeX

@misc{shenanigan_2026,
  title = {shenanigan},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shenanigan},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}