tomfoolery

From Tom (a common man) +‎ foolery.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌtɒmˈfuːlə.ɹi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑmˌful.ɚ.i/, [ˈtʰɑmˌɸuɫ.ɚ.i], [ˈtʰɑɱˌfuɫ.ɚ.i]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

tomfoolery (countable and uncountable, plural tomfooleries)

1. Foolish behaviour or speech.

   Synonym: buffoonery

   • 1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter VI, in The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth‎^[1]:

     "Do not think THAT," I put in. "It was not so at all. I grant you that my behaviour was bad—I fully confess that it was so, and make no secret of the fact. I would even go so far as to grant you that my behaviour might well be called stupid and indecent tomfoolery; but, MORE than that it was not.

2. (Cockney rhyming slang) Jewellery.