funny business
Americannoun
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
Wendy Liebman is a veteran of the funny business.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2024
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
“As long as nobody does any funny business — you’ve got to watch it till the very end.”
From New York Times • Apr. 27, 2023
“A funny business, that. The latch on the cage wasn’t damaged at all. It’d simply been opened, and I know I closed it up properly.”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
