noun🎓 English idiom

hanky-panky

suspicious or sexually questionable behavior

What it means

Hanky-panky refers to dishonest dealings, mischief, or, more commonly, mild sexual activity treated with humor or mock disapproval. The tone is almost always light, teasing, or euphemistic rather than seriously condemning.

Examples

  • There was clearly some hanky-panky going on with the accounts.
  • No hanky-panky on the couch while the parents are upstairs.
  • Investigators suspected hanky-panky in the bidding process.
  • He winked and said there had been a bit of hanky-panky at the office party.

Where it comes from

First recorded in the mid-1800s in British slang, likely a playful rhyming alteration of 'hocus-pocus' or related to 'handkerchief' tricks used by magicians.

Related idioms

#hocus-pocus#mumbo-jumbo#wishy-washy#chit-chat

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