shenanigan

n. Informal

1. 1. A deceitful trick; an underhanded act.
   2. Remarks intended to deceive; deceit. Often used in the plural.
2. 1. A playful or mischievous act; a prank.
   2. Mischief; prankishness. Often used in the plural.

[Origin unknown.]

(shuh-NAN-i-guhn)

noun
A deceitful trick or mischievous act; a prank. Usually used in plural.

Etymology
Of unknown origin

Etymologists aren't sure of the origin of this word, but if you go by how many Irish pubs are named Shenanigans or Shenanigan's, the word is probably of Irish origin.
The Oxford English Dictionary shows the very first citation of the word from an 1855 San Francisco publication. The California Gold Rush began in 1849 and there were plenty of Irishmen panning for gold there.
But it's still only a hypothesis and until we're sure, we'll have to quote Mark Twain who once said, "I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn't know."

Usage
"Germany's constitution sets a very high bar for dissolving parliament in order to avoid a repeat of Weimar Republic-era shenanigans that helped Adolf Hitler come to power." — Germany Paves the Way for Elections; Der Spiegel (Hamburg, Germany); Jul 22, 2005.

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noun

1. An indirect, usually cunning means of gaining an end: artifice, deception, device, dodge, feint, gimmick, imposture, jig, maneuver, ploy, ruse, sleight, stratagem, subterfuge, trick, wile. Informal take-in. See honest/dishonest, means.
2. A mischievous act: antic, caper, frolic, joke, lark, prank¹, trick. Slang monkeyshine (often used in plural). See good/bad, work/play.
3. Annoying yet harmless, usually playful acts. devilry, deviltry, diablerie, high jinks, impishness, mischief, mischievousness, prankishness, rascality, roguery, roguishness, tomfoolery. See good/bad.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
  Synonyms: mischief, mischief-making, mischievousness, deviltry, devilry, devilment, rascality, roguery, roguishness

Meaning #2: the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
  Synonyms: trickery, chicanery, guile, wile

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - tossestreger, narrestreger, rævestreger, pjat

Nederlands (Dutch)
onregelmatigheid, trucje, dwaasheid

Français (French)
n. - chahut, magouilles, intrigues

Deutsch (German)
n. - (ugs.) Tricks, Albernheiten

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (πληθ.) σαχλαμάρες, αμφίβολης ηθικής συμπεριφορά (κν. καμώματα)

Italiano (Italian)
birichinata

Português (Portuguese)
n. - engano (m), estupidez (f), tolice (f)

Русский (Russian)
проделка

Español (Spanish)
n. - artificio, engaño, trampa

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - knep, bedrägeri, skoj

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
欺骗, 恶作剧

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 欺騙, 惡作劇

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 허튼 소리, 속임수, 장난

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ごまかし, ペテン, 無分別な行為

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) خدعه, خداع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מעשה-קונדס, תעלול‬

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