to monkey around
4
7.3
- phrasal verb
- /ˈmʌŋki əˈraʊnd/
- Informal
:
hacer el tonto
- Don't start monkeying around with the federal government.
- just monkeying around
Now we can say when we're editing videos or when we're monkeying around with soundtracks, can't we?
- Now we can say when we're editing videos or when we're monkeying around with soundtracks, can't we?
- And he was on that giant carrier and you just you grab onto his leg and you and you hold him under the water until he stops monkeying around.
Examples
-
-I'm just monkeying around.
-
After finishing his homework, he decided to monkey around and play video games.
-
So people will sing along with me, hopefully they can monkey around too.
-
What if someone were to walk by the car and see you monkeying around with that thing?
Fiction book (1992) -
Think about painting and the effects that you can produce by monkeying around with perspective, right?
-
Willie, quit monkeying around on that thing.
-
Let's not monkey around with Beethoven, shall we?
-
Somebody's been monkeying around with those road signs.
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Don't go monkeying around on that ladder again, okay?
-
Besides, the information I posted was NOT correct, and if you would call the university, you'd know I no longer work there, but hey, it's MUCH easier and more fun to monkey around, isn't it?
Blog text (2)
Synonyms
350
1.1
To spend time sitting and doing very little without a clear purpose
111
4.1
To spend time doing playful or unplanned activities
75
9.9
To waste time or act carelessly
46
3.6
Act in a silly, playful way instead of working
11
7.0
To spend time doing small, not important jobs in a relaxed way
9
4.8
To act silly and playful to make people laugh
6
7.2
To waste time by doing small unimportant things
5
6.5
To spend time doing small, not important tasks slowly without a clear plan
3
5.9
To spend time somewhere doing nothing special
3
7.9
Spend time doing very little or nothing
3
3.5
To act in a careless, playful way instead of doing something important
3
8.4
To spend time doing not important things in a relaxed way
2
8.6
To spend time doing very little and moving around without plans
2
9.5
To waste time instead of doing the work you need
1
8.7
To spend time doing things that are not important
1
8.7
To waste time doing small unimportant things
1
9.2
To spend time doing small unimportant things instead of working
1
7.7
To spend time doing nothing and not working
1
4.4
To spend time doing very little and relaxing
1
6.5
To spend time slowly doing small simple jobs without hurry
1
8.0
To play an instrument in a relaxed way without serious practice
1
7.5
To keep doing the same task without getting anywhere
1
8.1
To spend time daydreaming and doing nothing useful
1
9.9
To waste time doing silly or lazy things instead of useful work
1
9.9
To waste time doing unimportant or silly things instead of doing something important
1
9.9
To waste time instead of doing something useful
1
6.5
To spend time doing nothing in a lazy way
1
6.5
To move around slowly doing small jobs in no hurry
To spend time doing small unimportant things with no real plan
Spend time or money on unimportant things
To act in a silly, playful way instead of being serious
Act in a silly, aimless way and waste time
To travel slowly without a clear plan
To waste time on busy work and make no progress
Antonyms
How Playful
- Informal
13
7.7
- Informal
4
7.3
- Informal
41
4.7
17
5.0
1
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to behave in a silly or aimless way' is largely inferable from combining 'monkey' (playful/mischievous) with 'around' (moving about aimlessly), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can often guess the sense. However, it relies on a metaphorical mapping (acting like a monkey) rather than strict compositionality, and some pragmatic nuance (fooling around vs. mere movement) may not be fully predictable without exposure, so it is not fully transparent.
Etymology
The verb monkey around comes from the image of a monkey playing and moving around, making trouble instead of working seriously. So, it means 'to behave in a silly or aimless way'.