Etymology

monkey business

monk·ey busi·ness

Today it means: Activity that is mischievous, stupid, or time-wasting. Full definition →

First used mid 19th c.Bengali বাঁদরামি
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The story

  1. Bengali · calque ofবাঁদরামি“mischief”
  2. English todaymonkey business

From monkey + business, probably a calque of Bengali বাঁদরামি (bãdrami, “mischief”, literally “monkey-behaviour”), from বাঁদর (bãdor, “monkey”) + -আমি (-ami, suffix forming nouns referring to the properties, qualities, or states of the words to which it is attached), from the perception that monkeys behave mischievously.

First known use, by meaning

  • from mid 19th c. Activity that is mischievous, stupid, or time-wasting.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.