Street voices
Hugues
·
United States
"Monkeying around, derived from messing around or fooling around. It just means not getting anything done and not doing anything serious. What's all this ruckus? What are you boys doing up here? Oh, sorry, we were just fooling around. Well, stop monkeying around and get some homework done!"
What it means
A casual, everyday way to say someone's messing about, being silly, or not taking things seriously when they should be getting on with something.
Usage examples
"Quit monkeying around and finish your homework, you've been up there laughing for half an hour."
"The kids spent the whole afternoon monkeying around in the garden instead of raking the leaves they had promised to clear."
"We were meant to be fixing the shed, but Dave kept monkeying around with the ladder and nearly knocked the paint over."
"Stop monkeying around and help me carry these boxes before it gets dark."
"The lads were supposed to be loading the van, but they were out back monkeying around with the pallet jack."
Where it comes from
It comes from the long-standing English use of monkey as both a noun tied to playful, restless behaviour and a verb meaning to fool about or tamper with things. By the 19th century, monkeying around was already settled in spoken English for clowning, fidgeting, or wasting time instead of cracking on.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
Your vote counts
Is this real street talk or have we lost the plot? Cast your vote.
