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Definition of Monkey business
1. Noun. Mischievous or deceitful behavior.
Definition of Monkey business
1. Noun. (US slang) Wasting time, or effort, on some foolish project. ¹
2. Noun. An activity that is considered silly, or stupid, or time-wasting. ¹
3. Noun. (idiomatic) An activity that may be considered illegal, questionable, or a vice, but not felonious. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Monkey Business
Literary usage of Monkey business
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Financial Advertising: For Commercial and Savings Banks, Trust, Title by Elias St. Elmo Lewis (1908)
"Social Side This man, who was prejudiced against the usual forms of sociability,
did his "monkey business" on shipboard! He would take a party of "friends ..."
2. Adventures in the Arts: Informal Chapters on Painters, Vaudeville and Poets by Marsden Hartley (1921)
""monkey business" is a very good act, and both men do excellent work on the taut
and slack wire. "Monkey," in this case being a man, does as beautiful a ..."
3. Reminiscences of a Pioneer by William Thompson (1912)
"But that night there was "monkey business." Three of the gang were hung to a
juniper two miles above town, while another was shot and killed in town. ..."
4. War Talks in Kansas by Commandery of the State of Kansas (1906)
"... monkey business" in the valley had contributed towards the retreat of the
enemy, but when I saw the large number of troops being ferried over ..."
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