shenanigans
/ʃɪˈnæn.ɪ.ɡənz/
shenanigans means mischievous play, especially by children. It carries an Arena rating of 1652, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, shenanigans ranks #401 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #791 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,340 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,483 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
shenanigans is pronounced /ʃɪˈnæn.ɪ.ɡənz/.
Why “shenanigans” is a great word
Deceitful or mischievous tricks, pranks, or underhanded activities. Of uncertain origin; mid-19th century American English slang, with popular but unverified folk etymologies linking it to Irish. Unlike "mischief," which suggests playful and often harmless misbehavior, or "skulduggery," which connotes serious and sinister deceit, shenanigans occupies the lively middle ground of practiced trickery. It is the rigged carnival game, the expertly "lost" pool shot for a wager, the elaborate and utterly false excuse concocted to explain a dented fender—a celebration of guile performed with a wink, warm from the hand that dealt the cards.
Etymology
From shenanigan + -s.
noun
- Mischievous play, especially by children.e.g.“Shanti and Tom are playing noisily upstairs again. They’re up to their usual shenanigans.”
- Deceitful tricks; trickery; games.e.g.“You should learn to spot their shenanigans and avoid being fooled.”
- Strange, unusual, weird, or wacky occurrences.e.g.“"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to devote any of tonight's news to evil monkey shenanigans unless you can find something more down to earth to focus your report on."” — 2009 January 20, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Tuesday, Jan 20, 2009:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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