Hey You! Quit Monkeying">Monkeying Around!

October 06, 2013

Monkeying

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

Monkeys are very similar to us in many ways -- most have ten fingers and ten toes, and brains much like ours. We enjoy watching them because they often act like us. In fact, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution says that monkeys and humans share a common ancestor.

Songwriter William Gilbert, in the musical “Princess Ida,” wrote:

“Darwinian man, though well-behaved, at best is only a monkey shaved.”

His words -- sung to Sir Arthur Sullivan’s music -- make listeners smile. Well, monkeys make us smile, too, because they are creatures full of playful tricks.

This is why many monkey expressions are about tricky people or playful acts. One of these expressions is “monkeyshines,” meaning “tricks or foolish acts.” The meaning is clear if you have ever watched a group of monkeys playfully chasing each other -- pulling tails, stealing food, doing tricks. So, when a teacher says to a group of students “Stop those monkeyshines right now!,” you know that the boys and girls are playing instead of studying.

You might hear that same teacher warn a student not to “monkey around” with a valuable piece of equipment. You “monkey around” with something when you do not know what you are doing. You are touching or playing with something you should leave alone.