shenanigan

noun she·nan·i·gan \ shə-ˈna-ni-gən \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of shenanigan

1 : a devious trick used especially for an underhand purpose

2 a : tricky or questionable practices or conduct —usually used in plural

b : high-spirited or mischievous activity —usually used in plural

Examples of shenanigan in a Sentence

students engaging in youthful shenanigans on the last day of school
an act of vandalism that went way beyond the usual shenanigans at summer camp

Recent Examples of shenanigan from the Web

The original reality-show sensation signed off in 2012 after six seasons of fights, hookups and boozy summertime shenanigans in Seaside Heights, N.J.

— editors, USA TODAY, "Masters, Oklahoma teacher strike, 'Jersey Shore': 5 things you need to know Thursday," 5 Apr. 2018
There have been tough scoreless draws, five-goal blowouts, alleged bites and streamer shenanigans.

— danielle lerner, The Courier-Journal, "Dirty River Derby minus the drama? Louisville City FC downplays emotion of FC Cincinnati match," 5 Apr. 2018
Trump’s shenanigans have made a new piece of budget jargon suddenly relevant.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump, House GOP Consider Clawing Back Spending They Approved the Week Before Last," 3 Apr. 2018
Oddballs and Statehouse shenanigans Big year for bills: This year the Legislature printed 561 bills, the most since 2011.

— cynthia sewell, idahostatesman, "See how Idaho lawmakers helped you or hurt you in 2018 | Idaho Statesman," 23 Mar. 2018
But Mel Brooks’ film debut about Broadway theater shenanigans bombed there.

— pam grady, San Francisco Chronicle, "Mel Brooks’ ‘Producers’ and ‘Springtime for Hitler’ reach the 50-year mark," 21 Mar. 2018
And so a fresh reversal augments the already considerable risk of non-compliance or other shenanigans from Pyongyang to undermine any agreement.

— charlie campbell / beijing, Time, "It's Not Just Mike Pompeo's Views on North Korea That Make a Deal With Kim Jong Un Unlikely," 14 Mar. 2018
Twitter user @blinkcabellos pointed out that Lorde must have been going through the thread from @tofakeit which highlights may other amazing pop culture shenanigans from over the years.

— kristin corpuz, Teen Vogue, "Lorde Retweets Miley Cyrus’s 2009 Video Rapping About Quitting Twitter," 13 Mar. 2018
The Takeaway: Of course, all of this focus on the shenanigans of Cambridge Analytica overlooks what might be the best part of the story: the name of the academic that the company used to pull all the data from Facebook in the first place.

— graeme mcmillan, WIRED, "While You Were Offline: Hey Facebook, Analyze This," 25 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shenanigan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The history of shenanigan is as tricky and mischievous as its meaning. Etymologists have some theories about its origins, but no one has been able to prove them. All we can say for certain is that the earliest known use of the word in print appeared in the April 25, 1855, issue of San Francisco's Town Talk. Although the "underhanded trick" sense of the word is oldest, the most common senses in use now are "tricky or questionable practices" (as in "political shenanigans") and "high-spirited behavior" (as in "youthful shenanigans").