Meaning

2 senses
  1. (informal, transitive)To play a deceitful confidence trick on (someone); to swindle, to trick; also, to carry out an act of mischief on (someone); to prank.

  2. (informal, intransitive)To play a deceitful confidence trick; also, to carry out an act of mischief.

Examples

14 sentences
  1. I've had enough of your shenanigans.

    ruНадоели мне ваши проделки.

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  2. No shenanigans while I am at the grocery store, you two!

    Гей, ви двоє, жодних витівок, поки я буду в магазині!

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  3. Fortunately I knew about his shenanigans.

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  4. Now is not the time for shenanigans.

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  5. These shenanigans are getting on my nerves.

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Origin

The origin of the noun is uncertain. As the earliest attestations are from California, U.S

The origin of the noun is uncertain. As the earliest attestations are from California, U.S.A., in the 1850s towards the end of the California gold rush (see the quotations), it is possible that the word derives from one of the following:

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

shenanigans, shenaniganing, shenaniganed, shenaniganed
Base formshenanigan · to shenanigan
3rd person singularshenanigans
Present participleshenaniganing
Past simpleshenaniganed / shenaniganned
Past participleshenaniganed / shenaniganned

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theyshenanigan
he, she, itshenanigans

Past simpleLesson

all personsshenaniganed

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave shenaniganed
he, she, ithas shenaniganed

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill shenanigan

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
shenanigan — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto