tomfoolery

[ tom-foo-luh-ree ]

noun

, plural tom·fool·er·ies.

1. foolish or silly behavior; tomfoolishness.

   Synonyms: silliness, foolishness, monkeyshine, horseplay

2. a silly act, matter, or thing.

tomfoolery

/ ˌtɒmˈfuːlərɪ /

noun

1. foolish behaviour
2. utter nonsense; rubbish

Word History and Origins

Origin of tomfoolery¹

First recorded in 1805–15; tomfool + -ery

Example Sentences

For 11 seasons, Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” has followed the triumphs, tragedies and tomfooleries of a group of Hollywood 20-something nobodies who became 30-something wannabes as the show became a reality TV juggernaut.

From Los Angeles Times

Cue a medley of exquisite tomfoolery, featuring bawdy badinage, dubious love-poems, mistaken identity, visual gags, a chaotic play-within-a-play and lots of linguistic whimsy.

From New York Times

“Dunning-Kruger-Times.com is a subsidiary of the ‘America’s Last Line of Defense’ network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery,” the site’s About Us page reads.

From Seattle Times

He chalked up the incident as “a case where the skylarking and tomfoolery in an employment context has gone awry.”

From Los Angeles Times

He told the court this was a case of "skylarking and tomfoolery" that had "gone awry".

From BBC