[Ads-l] "Monkey this up"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Bonnie: Here are instances of "monkeying things up" in 1953, 1983, and
1995 (please double-check for errors).

Date: December 17, 1953
Newspaper: The Owensboro Inquirer (Messenger-Inquirer)
Newspaper Location: Owensboro, Kentucky
Quote Page 1
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
So--though I hate to let you in on my "secret"--I must explain and
apologize for my absence. I've been out with the weatherman, monkeying
things up. We turned some valves, pulled some levers, pushed some
pedals and here it came--snow, icicles, zippy winds-followed by
Goodfellows bearing gifts
[End excerpt]

Date: July 18, 1983
Newspaper: Chicago Tribune
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
"The company is running smoothly, they have a good team, and they're
in good businesses," said one analyst, who requested anonymity. "The
last thing in the world they need is someone coming in from the
outside and monkeying things up."
[End excerpt]

Year: 1995
Book: SQL for Dummies
Author: Allen G. Taylor
Publisher: IDG Books Worldwide
Quote Page (Text seems to be on back cover)
Database: Google Books Snippet; should be verified with hardcopy
[Begin excerpt]

. Keep your database secure with access and function control commands
that allow multiple users to share data resources without monkeying
things up
. Plus, Allen's top ten lists:
. Ten common mistakes made in defining databases
. Ten ways to make ...
[End excerpt]

On Wed, Aug 29, 2018 at 12:40 PM Jacob Appelbaum
<jappelbaum123 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The Merriam-Webster online dictionary has this usage of the verb:
> https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monkey
> 1: to act in a grotesque or mischievous manner
> 2a : fool <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fool>, trifle
> <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trifle> —often used with
> *around*
>
>    - he likes to monkey around with engines
>
> b : tamper <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tamper> —usually
> used with *with*
>
>    - don't monkey with the settings
>    -
>
> A number of the other online dictionaries provide the idiom "To Monkey
> Around":
> 1)
> https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/monkey-around-with-sth
> 2) https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/monkey%20around
> 3) https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/monkey+around
>
> The wiktionary provides the following quote from Kipling's *The Jungle Book*:
> "*I wanna be a man, man-cub and stroll right into town and be just like the
> other men I'm tired of monkeying around"* - The Jungle Book
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_Book>
> https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/monkey_around
>
> In addition, the Monkees were notorious for their reputation as a band that
> would "Monkey around."
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOaOvlUc7_A
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 29, 2018 at 11:24 AM Bonnie Taylor-Blake <
> b.taylorblake at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > This morning on Fox News, Ron DeSantis -- the Trump-endorsed Republican
> > candidate for Governor of Florida -- said this about an upcoming race with
> > Andrew Gillum, Democratic candidate for Governor.
> >
> > “Let’s build off the success we’ve had under Gov. [Rick] Scott. The last
> > thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist
> > agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state. That is not gonna
> > work. That’s not gonna be good for Florida.”
> >
> > (From
> >
> > https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/henrygomez/ron-desantis-andrew-gillum-monkey-florida-governor
> > )
> >
> > I'll politely inquire: what on earth was DeSantis going for with "to monkey
> > this up"? Is "monkey up" an established idiom in American English? A
> > synonym for "muck up"? Did DeSantis somehow muck up "monkey around [with]"?
> >
> > Of course, the kicker is that DeSantis is white and Gillum is black. In the
> > absence of a good explanation for his use of "monkey up," DeSantis's
> > construction sounds like racist rhetoric.
> >
> > -- Bonnie
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org