[ti:Monkey Expressions] [ar:Shirley Griffith] [al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Go to 51voa.com for more... [00:10.08]Now, the VOA [00:12.72]Special English program [00:14.52]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. [00:17.72]Monkeys are very similar [00:20.37]to us in many ways. [00:22.51]Most have ten fingers [00:24.82]and ten toes, and brains [00:27.93]much like ours. [00:30.07]We enjoy watching them [00:32.17]because they often act like us. [00:35.56]In fact, Charles Darwin's [00:38.43]theory of evolution says [00:41.22]that monkeys and humans [00:42.76]share a common ancestor. [00:45.85]Songwriter William Gilbert, [00:48.72]in the musical "Princess Ida", [00:51.05]wrote:"Darwinian man, [00:53.70]though well-behaved, at best [00:56.09]is only a monkey shaved." [00:58.34]His words [01:00.13]-- sung to Sir Arthur Sullivan's music [01:03.35]-- make listeners smile. [01:06.13]Well, monkeys make us smile, too, [01:09.17]because they are creatures [01:11.37]full of playful tricks. [01:13.47]This is why many monkey [01:17.00]expressions are about [01:19.34]tricky people or playful acts. [01:22.79]One of these expressions [01:25.37]is monkeyshines, meaning tricks [01:29.50]or foolish acts. [01:31.00]The meaning is clear [01:33.41]if you have ever watched [01:35.35]a group of monkeys [01:36.74]playfully chasing each other: [01:38.88]pulling tails, stealing food, [01:41.67]doing tricks. [01:43.36]So, when a teacher says [01:46.23]to a group of students: [01:47.64]"Stop those monkeyshines right now!" [01:51.22]you know that the boys and girls [01:54.68]are playing, instead of studying. [01:57.41]You might hear that same teacher [02:01.64]warn a student not to [02:04.85]monkey around with [02:07.24]a valuable piece of equipment. [02:09.45]You monkey around with something [02:12.93]when you do not know [02:15.07]what you are doing. [02:16.21]You are touching [02:18.35]or playing with something [02:20.71]you should leave alone. [02:22.50]Also, you can monkey around [02:26.54]when you feel like doing something, [02:29.72]but have no firm idea of what to do. [02:33.55]For example, you tell your friend [02:38.19] you are going to spend the day [02:41.26]monkeying around with your car. [02:44.39]Weel, you do not have [02:47.18]any job or goal in mind. [02:48.91]It is just a way to pass the time. [02:52.54]Monkey business usually means [02:56.87]secret, maybe illegal, activities. [03:00.70]A news report may say there is [03:05.39]monkey business involved [03:07.30]in building the new airport, [03:09.04]with some officials getting [03:11.63]secret payments from builders. [03:13.82]You may make a monkey out [03:17.91]of someone when you make [03:19.66]that person look foolish. [03:21.32]Some people make a monkey [03:24.55]out of themselves [03:25.70]by acting foolish or silly. [03:28.54]If one monkey has fun, [03:31.49]imagine how much fun [03:34.03]a barrel of monkeys can have. [03:36.02]If your friend says [03:38.61]he had more fun than a barrel [03:41.64]of monkeys at your party, [03:43.33]you know that he [03:45.42]had a really good time. [03:46.98]Monkey suits are common names [03:50.51]for clothes or uniforms soldiers wear. [03:54.14]In earlier years [03:56.18]in many American cities, [03:58.38]you would find men playing [04:01.32]musical hand organs on the street. [04:04.42]Dancing to the music would [04:07.93]be the man's small monkey [04:10.32]dressed in a tight-fitting, [04:12.88]colorful jacket similar [04:15.37]to a military uniform. [04:18.43]So, people began to call [04:22.06]a military uniform a monkey suit. [04:25.85](MUSIC) [04:35.48]This VOA Special English program, [04:41.60]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, [04:43.92]was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. [04:47.45]Maurice Joyce was the narrator. [04:50.29]I'm Shirley Griffith.