as in skullduggery
the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end
had to resort to a certain amount of hanky-panky to sneak away from the house without his dog seeing him
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Recent Examples of hanky-panky
But there was no hanky-panky, and in fact the two couples had dinner together every week for two years after Dirty Dancing wrapped.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
On my ride with Boaz and Javadi, a Waymo operator suddenly joined us on the audio system, not to inform us that hanky-panky is prohibited, but to say that two passengers did not have their seat belts fastened.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024
Any outlier hanky-panky effort by Republicans would be enjoined by the courts based upon solid precedent.
—Jerry Goldfeder, New York Daily News, 24 July 2024
No hanky-panky, no name calling, no twisting of truths, no bull.
—Patrick Wallis, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024
Our inescapable conclusion is that the target of this pitch is being snowed by an acquaintance hoping to climb out of the friend zone for a bout of hanky-panky before moving on.
—Tom Zoellner, SPIN, 21 Feb. 2024
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
On my ride with Boaz and Javadi, a Waymo operator suddenly joined us on the audio system, not to inform us that hanky-panky is prohibited, but to say that two passengers did not have their seat belts fastened.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024
Any outlier hanky-panky effort by Republicans would be enjoined by the courts based upon solid precedent.
—Jerry Goldfeder, New York Daily News, 24 July 2024
No hanky-panky, no name calling, no twisting of truths, no bull.
—Patrick Wallis, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024
Our inescapable conclusion is that the target of this pitch is being snowed by an acquaintance hoping to climb out of the friend zone for a bout of hanky-panky before moving on.
—Tom Zoellner, SPIN, 21 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hanky-panky
Noun
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Watch on Deadline In the wake of his father’s disappearance at sea, Kojo, a young Ghanaian is drawn into a world of street gang and deception.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
14 Jan. 2025
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Directed by Su Biao, the comedy about a woman entangled in financial deception has remained a steady performer since its release on Dec. 31.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
There is a precedent for such scientific subterfuge.—
Henry A. Kissinger,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Nov. 2024
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In an era rife with conspiracy theories and subterfuge, how much of those forces are products of our own doing, perhaps our imagining?—
Dana Feldman,
Forbes,
30 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Obviously, such a system is rife with uncertainty, and the history of the process is full of skulduggery, both on the club and player side.—
Tony Blengino,
Forbes,
13 Jan. 2025
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Climax became the first ever vegan cheesemaker to win a prestigious Good Food award—though dairy complaints caused the prize to be rescinded at the last minute, with shades of the protectionist, legal skulduggery faced by non-dairy milk products.—
Andrew Rosenblum,
Popular Science,
26 Dec. 2024
Noun
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There’s still a lot of baseball chicanery to take place over the next few months, though.—
Grant Brisbee,
The Athletic,
18 July 2024
-
The eternal fight for liberty — slaves into gladiators, gladiators into free men — calls for courage and purpose beyond Lucius’s nightmarish expectations, uncovering the treachery and chicanery of Roman politics.—
Armond White,
National Review,
6 Dec. 2024
Noun
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This would be immediately followed by my dad standing up, racing over to my uncle, and sometimes grabbing him by the collar to stop him from completing an action that in their eyes seemed to be an act of utter betrayal and treachery.—
Wayne Chan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Jan. 2025
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Welcome back for another season full of [Alan Cumming voice] deception, backstabbing and treachery!—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
9 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Calling it his novel is a bit of authorial trickery: Griffin Hurt doesn’t exist.—
Stuart Miller,
Orange County Register,
16 Jan. 2025
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Kari Ferrell’s memoir is a zippy, intimate account of low-level trickery before the era of scams fully erupted.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
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This is political gamesmanship at its worst, planting a trap for lawmakers by exploiting a tragedy.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
Newsweek,
10 Jan. 2025
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Is there a difference between cheating and gamesmanship?—
Alan Shearer,
The Athletic,
27 Dec. 2024
Noun
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In her 30-year career, Laura has won numerous national awards for coverage of human trafficking, child welfare, crime and government secrecy.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
23 Jan. 2025
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That year, The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer of Raleigh investigated the secrecy cloaking the state’s poultry industry.—
Gavin Off,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Jan. 2025
Articles Related to hanky-panky
Thesaurus Entries Near hanky-panky
Cite this Entry
“Hanky-panky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hanky-panky. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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