1
as in buffoonery
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
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 monkeyshines
Noun
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Since medieval times, the colorful fool—from court jesters to Shakespeare’s characters—has used playful wit to critique authority and buffoonery to whip up excitement.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025 -
Their relationship, tentative, intimate, and defiant, lingers long after the satirical skewering of male buffoonery has faded.—
Leila Latif,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The oldest trick in the book … foiled by those pesky Bravo cameras.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
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The next evolution of creative culture isn’t faster turnaround or cooler AI tricks.—
Rochelle Ratkaj,
Rolling Stone,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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There was nothing particularly frightening about their Viennese waltz, which was a nice change from all the creepy tomfoolery earlier in the night.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
28 Oct. 2025
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This Survivor 49 challenge tomfoolery actually began before the season even started filming.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Preconfigured toppings include the Gold Standard (smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, lemon), the Summer Girl (burrata, grated tomato) and the Brusco (Calabrian cream cheese, pistachio mortadella, honey).—
Kate Bradshaw,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
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One of those friends forged on a film set is none other than the Oscar-winning British actress Helen Mirren, who first met Zegler while shooting the 2023 superhero caper Shazam!—
Helen Mirren,
Glamour,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But what had once been raucous and raunchy mischief, was now benign horseplay.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Your impatience with Bruno Tonioli’s horseplay was missed, lady!—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This was where they were raised, where the future Reality Bites director would goof around with the other kids in their building and shoot their escapades with a Super 8 Canon his dad bought him.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
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Schitt’s Creek made the calamitous Rose family famous, and their escapades can now be found in one place in Canada.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Art, meanwhile, occupies a lonely table in the pizzeria and tries to put on his best clowning act for the two women.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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As with older clowning traditions, the early American circus clowns were adults performing taboo acts to shock and delight other adults.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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His antics, which include hysterical subway-riding tutorials and his earnest but confounding interventions, come from a good place.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
3 Nov. 2025
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Every grin, every happy memory, from remembering George Springer’s ALCS homer to Myles Straw’s clubhouse antics, faded away.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Monkeyshines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkeyshines. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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