to clown around
9
4.8
- phrasal verb
- /klaʊn əˈraʊnd/
- Informal
:
hacer el tonto
- Join us in asking Patrick to stop clowning around and give voters a voice.
- stop clowning around
- quit clowning around
- just clowning around
I got pinched in church, you know, for clowning around.
- I got pinched in church, you know, for clowning around.
- But the third night we're in there clowning around and they you hear, all of a sudden you hear and you guys are quiet down.
Examples
-
In the park, the children were clowning around and having a great time playing games.
-
Will you stop clowning around?
-
l just love to clown around.
-
Stick with us and quit clowning around.
-
"This is no time to be clowning around," I said.
Fiction book (2002) -
Why can't this student stop clowning around in class?
Fiction book (2002) -
Two young cowboys were in there, clowning around while they loaded wet clothes into one of the dryers.
Fiction book (1998) -
He was just clowning around to loosen the mood before a big game.
Blog text (32) -
Getting all the little shreds of bark off my body would have been tedious as hell, except that Molly developed a fit of the giggles, and we ended up clowning around and laughing like a couple of ten-year-olds.
Fiction book (1991) -
Manatees currently available for adoption include Floyd, who likes to clown around with marine researchers, and Rosie, who often takes orphaned manatees under her flipper.
Academic text (2003)
Synonyms
233
1.8
To behave in a silly, playful way and waste time
88
2.1
Act in a foolish or playful way without taking things seriously
46
3.6
Act in a silly, playful way instead of working
42
4.6
To act silly and playful without doing anything serious
40
2.4
To say funny things and behave in a playful way to make people laugh
37
3.0
To behave in a silly way to make people laugh
19
5.1
Act in a playful, joking way without being serious
7
4.6
Act in a silly way to make others laugh or avoid being serious
3
8.0
To behave in a silly or embarrassing way to get attention
1
8.1
To play and joke in a silly way and sometimes cause trouble
1
9.9
Act in a foolish, annoying way instead of being serious
Act in a silly way like a clown to make people laugh
To act in a silly, playful way instead of being serious
Behave in a silly, clumsy way to make people laugh at you
Act in a silly, embarrassing way
To behave in a silly, awkward way that looks foolish
Antonyms
How Silly
- Informal
7
6.3
- Informal
46
3.6
- Informal
9
4.8
- UK
3
5.9
- Informal
40
2.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to behave in a silly or playful way' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'clown' (a person who behaves foolishly) used as a verb plus 'around' (moving/about aimlessly), so the composite denotes acting foolishly or goofing off. This is a straightforward, compositional particle-verb pattern common in English (and paralleled in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows the parts should understand it.
Etymology
Clown around comes from the image of a circus clown moving around the ring, doing silly tricks and jokes to make people laugh. So it means 'to behave in a silly or playful way'.