monkeyshine

mon·key·shine
M3O1N1K5E1Y4S1H4I1N1E1
/ˈmʌnkiˌʃaɪn/

noun

A puerile prank or trick.

“I have seen about as many monkeyshines from you as I will tolerate.”

Similar
mischiefbuffoonerytomfoolerymonkeyismshenanigan
Scrabble 23
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Meanings

nounmonkeyshine (plural monkeyshines)

plural monkeyshines · alternative monkey-shine

  1. A puerile prank or trick.

    I have seen about as many monkeyshines from you as I will tolerate.

    1 more example

    You may have noticed barefooted boys cutting up monkey-shines on trees with entire safety to themselves.

    1878, Augustus Radcliffe Grote, Popular Science Monthly, XIII. 435

    Synonyms: mischief, buffoonery, tomfoolery, monkeyism, shenanigan

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA puerile prank or trick.

Similar
mischiefbuffoonerytomfoolerymonkeyismshenanigan
Also see
capricciomuck-upprankshenanigan

Origin

From monkey + shine.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

monkeyshine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkeyshine

MLA

“monkeyshine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkeyshine. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monkeyshine,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkeyshine.

Source: monkeyshine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.