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[
monkey
]
- any
of numerous primates of a group including the families Cebidae - 2.
a person who performs comical antics; a mimic. A mischevious person,
a rascal, a scamp.3. play mischievous or foolish tricks; fool or mess
about or tamper with 3. the monkey a kind of dance performed to rock
music 4. Japanese TV series based on the Chinese novel His yu ch’I
(Journey to the West). A mish-mash of spectacular acrobatics, martial
arts and tacky special effects (see Monkey King)
[monkey, a cart-load of] - a type of something extremely cunning, mischievous or disorderly. [monkey business] - mischief, trickery, fooling around. [monkey king] - king of the monkeys (in Chinese Taoist legend), a stone monkey born of a stone egg formed at the beginning of time. He is irrepressible with a rude, boisterous, pushy, argumentative and impatient character. He was cast out of heaven after eating the fruit of immortality, annoying the gods and irritating Buddha. For that he was imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years. Immortal and indestructible. [monkey, make a] - (out of) humiliate by making appear ridiculous [monkey on (one’s) back (have a)] - (To be ridden by) the drug habit: Can.c; adopted, circa 1945, ex-US, by 1950, police and low speech - 2. broadly: a persistent or annoying problem 3. A variation, circa 1880-1910, of have (one’s) monkey up. [monkey
trick] - a mischievous, underhand
trick [monkey,
up] - A 19th century colloquial
term applied to anger and temper. At first in phrase, as to have (one’s)
monkey up, to be angry, and to put (someone’s) monkey up, to
make that person angry. By mid-19th century, the term could be used
“standing free”, e.g. “I wish you could see the calling
down I have given them-you have never seen my ‘monkey up’,
but it’s a good many pounds to the square inch, just now”,
a graphic use by Edward Lloyd in a letter of Apr. 1857, quoted by
F.E. Comparato in ‘Old Thunderer’s American Lightning’,
in Jnl of the Printing Historical Soc. No 13, 1978-9. One could also,
angered, have a, or the, monkey on (one’s) back -(1864 OED),
and get (one’s) monkey up.’ Perhaps alludes to animal side
brought uppermost by anger’ (Ware). Hence take the monkey off
your back!’, calm down. Low speech. |
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