Phrasal verb
clown around
Definition
phrasal verb. to behave in a silly or funny way to make people laugh.
phrasal verb. to engage in frivolous or playful behavior, often for the purpose of amusement or to avoid serious tasks.
Examples
“Stop clowning around and finish your homework.”
“The kids were clowning around in the back of the car during the long drive.”
“While the manager was away, the junior staff spent the afternoon clowning around instead of preparing the quarterly reports.”
Examples
simple
“Stop clowning around and finish your homework.”
contextual
“The kids were clowning around in the back of the car during the long drive.”
complex
“While the manager was away, the junior staff spent the afternoon clowning around instead of preparing the quarterly reports.”
Usage
often used as an imperative to tell someone to be serious.
Teaching tip
the verb is derived from the noun 'clown'; it carries a slightly more negative or dismissive tone than 'playing' when used by an authority figure.
Pitfall
He was clowning about the room.
He was clowning around the room.
while 'clown about' is also used, 'clown around' is the more common fixed phrasal verb form in many dialects.
Phrasal verb
Particles
around
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
clown + around
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/clown-around