What it means
To lark about is to play and mess around in a carefree, high-spirited way, full of jokes and silly antics with no real purpose but fun. The lark here is the playful sense of a bit of mischief and adventure, not the bird. Kids lark about in the playground, mates lark about on a night out, and someone larking about is enjoying themselves and not taking anything too seriously.
Usage examples
"They spent the whole afternoon larking about in the garden instead of revising."
"Less larking about, more revising, the exam is on Monday."
"The lads were larking about in the pool instead of doing their lengths."
"Stop larking about and give us a hand with these boxes."
"They were just larking about on the bus, taking the mick out of each other all the way home."
Voice comments
No one has left their voice yet. Break the ice.
Where it comes from
It comes from the older British English noun lark, meaning a bit of frolicsome fun or a carefree escapade. That sense is recorded from the early 19th century, and lark about turned up as the natural verb phrase for messing around, clowning, and having a laugh instead of getting on with anything useful.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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