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Monkey business

//ˈmʌŋkɪ ˌbɪznɪs// noun, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Activity that is mischievous, stupid, or time-wasting. idiomatic, informal, uncountable

    "Stop all this monkey business and do your homework!"

  2. 2
    mischievous or deceitful behavior wordnet
  3. 3
    Activity that is morally questionable or even mildly illegal. idiomatic, informal, uncountable

    "She wondered what sort of monkey business her neighbour was up to, sneaking out of his house at 1:00 am."

Etymology

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.

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