# shenanigan

Pronunciation: US say "shuh-NAN-uh-guhn" /ʃəˈnænəɡən/; UK say "shi-NAN-i-guhn" /ʃɪˈnænɪɡ(ə)n/

## Noun

1. Singular of shenanigans: a deceitful confidence trick, or a prank or act of mischievous play, especially by children. *(colloquial)* — singular of shenanigans: a deceitful confidence trick; also, an act of mischief; a prank, a trick; an act of mischievous play, especially by children.
   - Simple: Singular of shenanigans. One trick or prank, done to cheat someone or just for fun.
   - _The con man's favorite shenanigan was selling the same plot of land to three different buyers._
   - _Every April Fools' Day, the twins plan at least one shenanigan to pull on their dad._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To trick or swindle someone, or to play pranks on them; also, to carry out tricks or acts of mischief.

## Origin

Of uncertain origin; the earliest records come from California in the 1850s, near the end of the gold rush. It may come from Irish sionnachuighim ("to play tricks", literally "to play the fox") or from Spanish chanada ("deceit, trick"), a shortening of charranada; other suggestions include East Anglian dialect nannicking ("playing the fool"), French ces manigances ("these fraudulent schemes") and German Scheinheilige ("sham holy men").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/shenanigan (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).