hanky-panky
or han·key-pan·key
unethical behavior; deceit: When the bank teller bought an expensive car and house, they suspected there might be some hanky-panky going on.
illicit sexual relations.
Origin of hanky-panky
1- Also han·ky pank .
Words Nearby hanky-panky
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hanky-panky in a sentence
Meanwhile, What Kind of hanky-panky Is Going on Over at the Department of Health and Human Services?
Up to a Point: PJ on Sochi Stray Dog Stew and 1-800-F*CKYOU | P. J. O’Rourke | February 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThose who are fasting must abstain from eating, drinking (even water), smoking, and hanky-panky of any sorts.
Clarkson wears four-inch Gucci sandals, a chic, black, off-the-rack Italian dress and red Hanky Panky underwear (so she says).
I knew from other reading that no firm had been more deeply involved in pre-1929 financial hanky-panky than it had.
I remember being shocked not by the explicit carnality but by the confusion and hanky-panky, and the unhappiness.
These scientists have worked miracles before which those of the ancient priests and magicians are mere tricks of hanky-panky.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordIf you play any hanky-panky tricks—look here, Da Souza, I'll kill you, sure!
A Millionaire of Yesterday | E. Phillips OppenheimSome hanky-panky with regimental money; every one knows how India plays the devil with a man's sense of right and wrong.
Alone | Norman DouglasI'll put up with no hanky-panky work from Mrs. Cummers Portheris, my dear—and well she knows it!'
An American Girl in London | Sara Jeannette DuncanHe had no idea I wasn't interested in his other hanky-panky, but could tell I had had a low blow.
The Misplaced Battleship | Harry Harrison (AKA Henry Maxwell Dempsey)
British Dictionary definitions for hanky-panky
/ (ˈhæŋkɪˈpæŋkɪ) /
dubious or suspicious behaviour
foolish behaviour or talk
illicit sexual relations
Origin of hanky-panky
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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