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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

Wendy Liebman is a veteran of the funny business.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2024

But let's not have any more funny business.

From Salon • Jun. 14, 2023

But while he has added a lot of back stories, especially for Fleetwood, Sonja and Queen, his version also features quite a few new quips as well as some unfortunate broad funny business.

From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2022

They probably figured that Mr. Ferris was going to tell me that I’d better not try to pull any funny business in his class, no sirree, buster.

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.