monkey man
- noun
- /ˈmʌŋki mæn/
- Informal
:
hombre mono
- Every time he tells a joke, he turns into a monkey man and makes everyone giggle.
Examples
-
Look, I'm good looking monkey man, I'm just small.
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The children laughed as their dad danced around the room like a monkey man.
-
She loves to play pranks and act like a monkey man at parties.
Synonyms
339
4.1
A playful child who likes to play tricks
A person who acts silly and playful
A lively child who likes to climb and play noisy games
Antonyms
How Playful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a person who acts playful or mischievous' is directly compositional from 'monkey' (denoting playful/mischievous behavior) modifying 'man' (a person) — essentially 'a man who behaves like a monkey.' This animal+person compounding is a common, cross-linguistically transparent pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The noun monkey man may come from the picture of a monkey and a man, a person who climbs, makes faces, and moves in a quick, playful way. That's why it means 'a person who acts playful, silly, or mischievous'.