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high jinks

or hi·jinks

[hahy-jingks]
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noun (used with a plural verb) Informal.
  1. boisterous celebration or merrymaking; unrestrained fun: The city is full of conventioneers indulging in their usual high jinks.
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Origin of high jinks

First recorded in 1760–70; see origin at jink

Synonyms

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horseplay, skylarking.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for high-jinks

Historical Examples

  • Those were my high-jinks days when very many things seemed possible.

    Carry On

    Coningsby Dawson

  • They stood together, then, at the rear of the house, to watch the high-jinks going on in front.

    Rope

    Holworthy Hall

British Dictionary definitions for high-jinks

high jinks

hijinks

noun
  1. lively enjoyment
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with high-jinks

high jinks

Playful or rowdy activity, often involving mischievous pranks. For example, All sorts of high jinks go on at summer camp after “lights out.” About 1700 this term denoted a gambling game accompanied by much drinking, but by the mid-1800s it acquired its present meaning.

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