# monkey business

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/monkey-business
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Activity that is mischievous, stupid, or time-wasting.

## Examples

- Stop that monkey business and finish your work.
- I suspect some monkey business is happening in the garage.
- Please quit the monkey business and help me move this table.
- The teacher told the students to stop their monkey business while she was out of the room.
- The babysitter warned the children that there would be no dessert if she caught them doing any monkey business before bedtime.
- We need to hire a security guard to ensure there is no monkey business at the construction site during the weekend.
- The IT department installed new software to prevent any monkey business with the office computers during the night shift.
- The manager suspected there was some monkey business going on with the company accounts, so he ordered a full investigation.

## Origin

From monkey + business, probably a calque of Bengali বাঁদরামি (bãdrami, “mischief”, literally “monkey-behaviour”), from বাঁদর (bãdor, “monkey”) + -আমি (-ami, suffix forming nouns referring to the properties, qualities, or states of the words to which it is attached), from the perception that monkeys behave mischievously. (disputed)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.