shenanigan English · revision 1943

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃɪˈnænɪɡ(ə)n/ ''(UK)''; /ʃəˈnænəɡən/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is uncertain.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Suggested sources include Spanish ''chanada'', short for ''charranada'' “trick, deceit”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) or, less likely, German peddlers' slang ''Schenigelei'' “work, craft”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Another guess is Irish ''sionnach'' “fox”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nonsense, trickery or humbug, in the phrase ''come the shenanigan'' (1854 in Etymonline; 1855 in Barnhart, Merriam-Webster and the OED).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The earliest uses are from California, in San Francisco and the Sierra Nevada.^(Etymonline) The word meant trickery or deceit,^(OED 1989)^(AHD) and, usually in the plural, mischievous or high-spirited behaviour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1854 – ''come the shenanigan'', in California.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1855 – trickery, nonsense.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A deceitful trick or underhand act.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(usually plural)'' Mischievous or high-spirited behaviour; pranks.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(usually plural)'' Questionable or dishonest conduct.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[shenanigans]]

+ * [[skulduggery]]

+ * [[mischief]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}