skylarking

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of skylark

plural skylarkings

1. countableuncountablePlaying around; frolicking; originally, running about the rigging of a vessel for fun; horseplay.

   […] those gods and men whose titles to eminence are secure, seldom worry themselves about the seditious gossip of old apple-women, and the skylarkings of funny little boys in the street.

   1852, Herman Melville, Pierre; or, The Ambiguities

   1 more example

   They had plenty of the best food and quite as much rum as was good for them. In the dog-watches they were allowed and even encouraged to enjoy themselves in the manner known on board ship as "skylarking."

   1911, Arthur Hamilton Clark, The Clipper Ship Era 1843-1869, Chapter 2