noun

mischief

mischief, trouble-making, naughtiness

The children are always up to some mischief.

The children are always up to some mischief.

His eyes were full of mischief.

His eyes were full of mischief.

to be up to mischief to be planning or doing something naughty The children are always up to some mischief.

to get into mischief to start behaving naughtily The boy got into mischief at school.

Synonyms: prank, naughtiness, trouble; Antonyms: good behaviour, helpfulness

From Old French 'meschief', from 'mes-' (badly) + 'chief' (head, end), meaning 'bad outcome'.

Think of a 'mischievous chief' (mis-chief) causing trouble. A bad leader leads to a bad outcome.

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