make a monkey out of

English

Alternative forms

• make a monkey of

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

make a monkey out of (third-person singular simple present makes a monkey out of, present participle making a monkey out of, simple past and past participle made a monkey out of)

1. (idiomatic, transitive) To cause a person, group, or action to appear foolish or inferior; to subject someone or something to ridicule.
   • 1835, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 10, in The Monikins:

     The rough old sealer swore some terrible oaths, protesting "that he would not make a monkey of himself, by appearing in this garb."

   • 1960 May 30, “Vive la R”, in Time:

     Across France last week, doctors were trying to make a monkey of the government-controlled health-insurance system. . . . Doctors in many départements went on informal strike.

   • 2008 April 28, Zafar Altaf, “Changing the resource base in farming”, in Pakistan Dawn, retrieved 4 Oct. 2008:

     It is very difficult to make a monkey out of policy makers who can read and write and can argue a case logically.