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Synonyms

funny business

American  

noun

Informal.

  1. improper or unethical conduct, as deception or trickery.

    He won't stand for any funny business here.
funny business Idioms  

  1. Deceit, treachery, unethical conduct. For example, We suspect their outfit has been up to some funny business. [Colloquial; c. 1880]

Etymology

Origin of funny business

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Hmm, any other funny business out there worth looking into …?

From Slate • Sep. 20, 2025

In a joint interview with Harper's Bazar in 2019 the two claimed that there was “no funny business at all” during filming.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2024

If Grubauer comes back from injury the way he did last time and no funny business happens at the trade deadline, the role of top dog could get passed right back.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 22, 2023

He’s asked them all to visit the Dawn Project in Santa Barbara to evaluate his team’s methods, and to bring their engineers to see if there’s any funny business going on.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2023

On Monday, Coach Reed caught me sneaking over to the Shirts Team and finally figured out the funny business.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.