monkey business

American

noun

frivolous or mischievous behavior.
improper or underhanded conduct; trickery.

monkey business British

noun

informal mischievous, suspect, dishonest, or meddlesome behaviour or acts

"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

monkey business Idioms

Silly, mischievous, or deceitful conduct, as in The teacher told the children to cut out the monkey business and get to work, or I don't trust that lawyer—there's some monkey business going on. This expression transfers the tricks of monkeys to human behavior. [Late 1800s]

Etymology

Origin of monkey 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.

“That was more than enough monkey business for us,” the department said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce Momo’s capture.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 5, 2023

The days of monkey business may be over.

From Slate • Oct. 12, 2022

Giuliani was hoodwinked not by a monkey but old-fashioned monkey business.

From Salon • Oct. 23, 2020

Suffice it to report, that’s a whole bunch of monkey business.

From Washington Times • Nov. 29, 2018

In Axelroot’s case, as I have mentioned, it frequently turns out to be monkey business.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

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