shenanigan
Syllables: she·na·ni·ganUK/ʃɪˈnænɪɡ(ə)n//ʃəˈnænəɡən/
shenanigan noun: dishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous activities or behaviour; skulduggery, trickery; also, mischievous behaviour or play; high jinks. Also the singular of shenanigans.
Noun
shenanigan (countable and uncountable, plural shenanigans)
- Dishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous activities or behaviour; skulduggery, trickery; also, mischievous behaviour or play; high jinks.
- One of Professor [John] Moon's most astonishing "experiments," consisted of holding a watch suspended from a short chain at arm's length, and allowing anyone in the pit to pull pistol and "blaze away" at the word "fire," whereupon the watch would most unconscionably disappear. An individual who had...1855 September, “Mr. Soap’s Yachting Excursion”, in Yankee-notions, volume IV, number 9, New York, N.Y.: T. W. Strong, […], →OCLC, page 280, column 1
- There are stories still told how money was used and promised, but from the best knowledge I can acquire, I think this is not true. If sharp practice was played, and "shenanigan" was used, we, to-day, looking back upon those times, cannot say that evil has come of it.[1877], Cha[rle]s H. Sparks, “Political History”, in History of Winneshiek County, with Biographical Sketches of Its Eminent Men, Decorah, Iowa: Jas. Alex. Leonard, →OCLC, page 31
Verb
shenanigan (third-person singular simple present shenanigans, present participle shenaniganing or shenaniganning, simple past and past participle shenaniganed or shenaniganned)
- To play a deceitful confidence trick on (someone); to swindle, to trick; also, to carry out an act of mischief on (someone); to prank.
- The habit of "shenaniganing" has become so disgracefully common at Union college that some of the right minded students have passed resolutions condemning the practice in unqualified terms. We are happy to inform the friends of Michigan University that this unmusical word, which, translated means...1872 October 19, “Notes on the College Press and so forth”, in The Chronicle, volume IV, number II, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Students of the University of Michigan, →OCLC, page 24, column 2
- I must have looked sceptical regarding the squirrel, as I informed him that I had not much appetite just then; but he assured me he was not "shenan-neganning" me, and that the dish would prove a delicacy.1894, Mary J. Jaques, “Sheep Dipping, Breaking in Bronchos, Visit to Texan Squatter”, in Texan Ranch Life; with Three Months through Mexico in a “Prairie Schooner”, London: Horace Cox, […], →OCLC...
- To play a deceitful confidence trick; also, to carry out an act of mischief.
- Then after much shenaniganing around over a period of several weeks […] we came into the committee room after this "night study" which I understand too place, and some of the Members had the bill we are now considering in a mimeographed form and some of us did not have it.1964 February 6, Basil Whitener, “Civil Rights Act of 1963”, in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 88th Congress, Second Session (United States House of Representatives), volume...
- Was it merely a ruse to ensure that the people during that period of 12 months got used to the idea that the workshop would close, and gradually reconciled themselves to it? It does not look as if they have, but I suggest that that is one reason the Government shenaniganed around with the people of...1986 July 9, R. F. H. Maxwell, “Debate—General”, in Parliamentary Debates (Hansard): Second Session, Forty-first Parliament (New Zealand House of Representatives), volume 472, Wellington: V. R. Ward...
Also used as
shenanigan is also the singular of shenanigans.
Examples of shenanigan in a sentence
- An individual who had attended several evenings and witnessed the "experiment," suspected, in the classic language of the times, that there was something of "shenanigan" in it.1855 September, “Mr. Soap’s Yachting Excursion”, in Yankee-notions, volume IV, number 9, New York, N.Y.: T. W. Strong, […], →OCLC, page...
- The habit of "shenaniganing" has become so disgracefully common at Union college that some of the right minded students have passed resolutions condemning the practice in unqualified terms.1872 October 19, “Notes on the College Press and so forth”, in The Chronicle, volume IV, number II, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Students of the...
- Gosh, I never was so shenaniganned in all my life.1932, John Beames, chapter V, in Gateway, London: Ernest Benn […], →OCLC, page 89:
- I've already paid for it." I don't know, he shenaniganed something.2001, Amalia Sena Sánchez, quotee, “Fiesta”, in John Pen[daries] La Farge, editor, Turn Left at the Sleeping Dog: Scripting the Santa Fe...
Synonyms of shenanigan
Forms of shenanigan
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | shenanigans |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | shenanigans |
| present participle | shenaniganing |
| present participle | shenaniganning |
| past participle | shenaniganed |
| past | shenaniganed |
| past participle | shenaniganned |
| past | shenaniganned |
Origin of shenanigan
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: * Irish sionnachuighim (“to play tricks”, literally “to play the fox”); Irishmen were among the people participating in the gold rush. (See also the 31 December 1854 quotation suggesting it is an “Irish word”.) * Spanish chanada, a shortening of charranada (“deceit, trick”); California was colonized by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century, and many people from Latin America also took part in the gold rush. Other suggestions are set out in the table below. possible etymologies * From the East Anglian dialectal word nannicking (“playing the fool”). * From French ces manigances (“these fraudulent schemes”). * From German Scheinheilige (“sham holy men; sham holy actions”), scheinheilig (“hypocritical”) (18th c.) * From Rhine Franconian schinägeln (“to work hard”), from the peddler’s argot term Schenigelei (“work”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Words formed from shenanigan
Questions about shenanigan
- What does shenanigan mean?
- Shenanigan means dishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous activities or behaviour; skulduggery, trickery; also, mischievous behaviour or play; high jinks.
- How do you use shenanigan in a sentence?
- An individual who had attended several evenings and witnessed the "experiment," suspected, in the classic language of the times, that there was something of "shenanigan" in it.
- What part of speech is shenanigan?
- Shenanigan can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce shenanigan?
- Shenanigan is pronounced /ʃɪˈnænɪɡ(ə)n/ (UK).
- What is the plural of shenanigan?
- The plural of shenanigan is shenanigans.
Words near shenanigan in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: shenanigan (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: Shenanigan us.ogg.
Cite this entry: “shenanigan.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shenanigan. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.