α. 1900s– ranagazoo, 1900s– rannygazoo, 1900s– ranygazoo, 2000s– rannigazoo.
β. 1800s– ranikaboo, 1800s– rannikaboo, 1900s– ranicky-boo, 1900s– reinikaboo, 1900s– renicky-boo.
rannygazoon.
/ˌranɪɡəˈzuː/, U.S. /ˌræniɡəˈzu/ U.S. (regional and colloquial).
Nonsense, deception; foolishness, fuss, exaggeration; (also) an instance of this; a prank, a trick.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > absurdity, incongruity > [noun] > antic
toy?1518
antics1570
murlimewes1583
monkey trick1653
dido1807
monkey work1830
monkeyshinec1832
monkey business1835
rannygazoo1896
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > mischievous or practical joking > [noun] > instance of
jest1578
jig1592
wilec1600
waggery1604
pleasance1668
quiz1795
practical joke1804
skite1804
skit1815
galliardise1842
leg-pull1893
rannygazoo1896
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > trickery, playing jokes > [noun] > a trick, prank, hoax
pratOE
mowa1393
pageant?c1430
jimp?1572
prank1576
jest1578
jig1592
frump1593
trick1605
bilk1664
fun1699
plisky1706
humbug1750
hum1751
practical joke1751
marlock1763
quiz1795
practical joke1804
skite1804
hoax1808
skit1815
wrinkle1817
rusty1835
funny business1838
string1851
stringer1851
cod1862
mank1865
spoof1889
leg-pull1893
rannygazoo1896
shenanigan1926
gotcha1967
to throw a fastball1968
wind-up1984
1893 Kansas Univ. Q. 1 141 Rally-kaboo, irregular, not according to the standard.]
1896 A. H. Lewis in Washington Post 23 Feb. 14/3 Now, thar's a sort of rannikaboo liar on earth, an' I don't mind him nor his fabrications none whatever.
1907 S. E. White Arizona Nights (U.K. ed.) iii. 255 ‘You—bluffer!’ shouted a voice, ‘don't you think you can run any such ranikaboo here!’
1916 Dial. Notes 4 328 Renicky..Also ranicky, or renicky-boo. ‘He wants to run some sort of bluff or renicky on us.’
1924 P. G. Wodehouse Bill the Conqueror xi. 204 I'll hang around for a while just in case friend Pilbeam starts any rannygazoo.
1940 Time 14 Oct. 28 Wilkie went to N.Y.C. to tour Democratic Brooklyn... Still he refused to make a..speech, still turned down..pleas..to let loose with a ring-tailed, rabble-rousing rannygazoo.
1947 Sun (Baltimore) 20 Jan. 1/2 A ranikaboo in Arizona would be known as a prank in other states.
1973 S. Robinson in Analog Sci. Fiction/Sci. Fact Feb. 72 Callahan is tolerant of rannygazoo; he maintains that a bar should be ‘merry’, so long as no bones are broken unintentionally.
1994 Toronto Sun (Nexis) 21 Nov. 11 In China, South Korea, the old Romania, places where there's a firm hand at the tiller, you avoid all that rannygazoo.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1896