to monkey with
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: to monkey about
To tamper with or play mischievous tricks. To monkey with the cards is to try to arrange them so that the deal will not be fair; to monkey with the milk is to add water to it and then sell it as pure and unadulterated.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to monkey with” mean?
To tamper with or play mischievous tricks. To monkey with the cards is to try to arrange them so that the deal will not be fair; to monkey with the milk is to add water to it and then sell it as pure and unadulterated.
Is “to monkey with” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.