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jinks
/ »ćÏôÉȘĆ°ìČő /
plural noun
- boisterous or mischievous play (esp in the phrase high jinks )
yĐÄvlog History and Origins
Origin of jinks1
Idioms and Phrases
see high jinks .Example Sentences
McDonald is game for the high jinks but doesnât always seem natural gamboling about the stage.
The evening was a test for comedy, decorum, free speech and what kind of comedic high jinks the new Trump-appointed administration of the Washington center would tolerate.
The camera hurls itself into the high jinks, slamming itself back and forth at the same cadence as Nathanâs concussions.
We know the brutality isnât really happening, so we go along with the vicious high jinks.
The audience at the Saturday matinee audience I attended was filled with young people who seemed delighted by the rambunctious high jinks.
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More About Jinks
What doesÌęjinks mean?
The noun jinks refers to prankish or mischievous activities. It is a plural form of jink.
Jinks is rarely used, except for in the much more common term high jinks (also commonly spelled hijinks), which refers to playful, mischievous, or rowdy activity.
High jinks usually implies a combination of fun and mischief. Activities that are called high jinks are often silly and mischievous and they may be rowdy, but theyâre usually not harmful. They include things like minor pranks or the kinds of activities done during a happily unrestrained celebration. Sometimes, the term refers to a series of silly or chaotic events or interactions. This is especially the case in the phrase high jinks ensue, as in The movie is about a man who has to adopt 11 ostrichesâhigh jinks ensue.Ìę
However, high jinks is sometimes used in a more negative way to refer to mischief or wrongdoing thatâs absurd or incompetent, as in The administration is up to its usual high jinks againâluckily theyâre too inept to pull any of it off.Ìę
The word jink can also be used as a verb meaning to move quickly or in a jerky motion to elude or avoid something. It can also be used as a noun referring to such a movement. These senses of the word are also not commonly used. A much more common word that means the same thing is juke.
Jinks should not be confused with jinx, which can be a noun referring to something that brings bad luck or a verb meaning to bring bad luck toâto place a jinx on.
Example: As a substitute teacher, I know exactly what kind of high jinks students will participate in when they think they can get away with it.
Where doesÌęjinks come from?
The first records of the word jinks in reference to mischievous behavior come from right around 1700. This sense of the word may derive from a word meaning âto gasp violently,â perhaps in reference to intense laughter. The Old English word cincung, meaning âboisterous laughter,â may be related.
High jinks often refers to the kind of playful activities that end up with the participants laughing themselves silly. The word almost always implies some level of mischief or rowdiness. It is particularly associated with pranks, but usually the kind of pranks that the pranked person can also laugh at.
Did you know ... ?
What are some synonyms for jinks?
What are some words that share a root or word element with jinks?Ìę
What are some words that often get used in discussing jinks?
What are some words jinks may be commonly confused with?
How isÌęjinks used in real life?
Jinks is rarely used outside of the term high jinks.
is the perfect day to look back on some of our staff high jinks and , and there have been quite a few! Do you remember when we plastic wrapped our Head of Education Brian Cofrancesco's desk? He sure does!
â Connecticut's Old State House (@CTOldStateHouse)
April Fools' Day pranks: Pokemon, cats, and other high-tech high jinks (pictures)
â CNET (@CNET)
Anyone want to be in cahoots with me? Which high jinks will ensue is TBD.
â SpacedMom (@copymama)
Ìę
Try usingÌęjinks!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of jinks?
A. antics
B. shenanigans
C. boredom
D. mischief
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American HeritageŸ Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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