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monkeyshines

noun

plural of monkeyshine
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
  1. buffoonery
  2. trick
  3. tomfoolery
  4. caper
  5. horseplay
  6. escapade
  7. clowning
  8. antic
Noun
  • Still, there's a remarkable level of buffoonery in his analysis.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The show, with its interest in corporate buffoonery, doesn’t quite manage to hand-wave away the queasy implications.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of buffoonery
Noun
  • My father was the man of tricks, who sat for an hour mining a watermelon with a circular spoon, who carved the rind into a castle.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Teoxane that pulls a bit of a magic trick; metallic and foil eye shadow sticks with a magnetic design from Danessa Myricks Beauty; and a new way to perform one of plastic surgery’s most popular procedures, breast augmentation, from Motiva.
    — Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of trick
Noun
  • That is where all classic Tom and Jerry tomfoolery ends — and there are another 95 minutes to go.
    — Caspar Salmon, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • New assistant coach Alice Chilton is a blatant remodeling of Roy Kent — a brusque ex-soccer player who’s reluctant to engage with Ted’s tomfoolery or personal prodding — but Tanya Reynolds’ performance is equal turns wounded and witty.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of tomfoolery
Noun
  • Along for extra pepperoni in this comedy crime caper are David Harbour, Patricia Arquette, Michael Chernus, Garret Dillahunt, Ryan Eggold, Gregory Alan Williams, Tom McCarthy, Owen Teague, Harlow Jane and Danielle Macdonald.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026
  • This seminal caper re-teams Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) costars Robert Redford and Paul Newman in a story of two con men taking revenge on the brutal crime boss (Robert Shaw) who murdered their friend.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of caper
Noun
  • The device’s user manual also warns it should not be used in response to verbal defiance, or for punishment, torture or horseplay.
    — Ryan J. Foley, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The device's user manual also warns it should not be used in response to verbal defiance, or for punishment, torture or horseplay.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of horseplay
Noun
  • Now roughly two weeks later, Netflix has made a whole documentary about the escapade.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The escapade prompted a high-speed chase by two fighter jets and ended in an emergency landing in a sunflower field, according to local authorities.
    — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of escapade
Noun
  • On paper, the script didn’t seem that funny, and the looseness of it all — the clowning, the lack of a traditional plot structure — seemed kind of slapdash.
    — Victor Garber, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The clowning might be a little too effortful.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Definition of clowning
Noun
  • Part true crime, part tall tale, this is a story about friendship, outrageous antics, betrayal, and a whole lot of weed.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 17 Sep. 2026
  • When his not-so-short film finally dropped, viewers were taken on a tour of Drake’s sumptuous lifestyle and summer antics.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of antic
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

monkeyshine
monkeyshines
monkeys (with)
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Cite this Entry

“Monkeyshines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkeyshines. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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