1
as in buffoonery
usually monkeyshines plural
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
hockey players who are known for their monkeyshines on and off the ice
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in trick
usually monkeyshines plural
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
on the alert for paleontological monkeyshines ever since the unmasking of Piltdown man
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monkeyshine
Noun
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Death by Lightning, adapted by Mike Makowsky from Candice Millard’s 2011 nonfiction book and directed by Matt Ross, hums with the strength of these performances, particularly Shannon’s quiet composure and Macfadyen mining new depths of buffoonery.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025 -
Scholz-Carlson’s staging pushes against the deep misogyny of Da Ponte’s libretto by accentuating the buffoonery of the two male romantic leads.—
Sheila Regan,
Twin Cities,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
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This dish will do the trick with crispy chicken and fresh zucchini tossed in a tender linguine with a robust lemon flavor.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
7 Jan. 2026
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But even an invitation to hang out again, perhaps paired with a gift card to a local lunch spot, could do the trick.—
Mandy Len Catron,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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There was reportedly no horseplay or swerving during the ride, according to 9News.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
22 Dec. 2025
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But what had once been raucous and raunchy mischief, was now benign horseplay.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Whether scoffing the fisherman's haul at Ristorante Bar la Vela, margaritas and caper paté at Kaya Kaya overlooking the harbor of Scauri, or simply scrambling onto a rocky perch with a cold beer.—
Rosalyn Wikeley,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Jan. 2026
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Following just behind them were Josh Safdie’s wild ping-pong caper Marty Supreme (13), Yorgos Lanthimos’ black comedy Bugonia (12) and Guillermo del Toro’s gothic classic Frankenstein (12).—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Barnett was the second Mississippi resident to take the monkey business into their own hands.—
Bracey Harris,
NBC news,
5 Nov. 2025
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The monkey business is dominated by a handful of highly secretive and rivalrous brokers.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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With lovely underwater footage and philosophical yet accessible themes, this gentle marine escapade is a celebration of our bonds with wildlife.—
Tomris Laffly,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Dec. 2025
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No one knows why; no one has a telephone in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains, so John Boy sets out into a winter storm to find his daddy, having various escapades with the quirky residents of their backwoods community—a Black preacher, a pair of old-lady bootleggers, a turkey thief—along the way.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Dec. 2025
Noun
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As for Abdul-Mateen, the clownery will resume for him on Broadway.—
Jessica Wang,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2022
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Tirhakah Love is a senior writer at New York Magazine and the host of the new evening newsletter Dinner Party, a daily email that touches on all things entertainment — that means film, television, music, tech, and gaming — plus politics and corporate clownery.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2022
Noun
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At a lavish country house party, a practical joke appears to have gone horribly, murderously wrong.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
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In the final setpiece, a Dracula versus Wolf Man fight is shunted to the background for the main event: two screaming comedians chased by a massive, groaning monster, deploying practical jokes and tricks to keep their pursuer at bay.—
Rory Doherty,
Vulture,
20 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Monkeyshine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkeyshine. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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