monkey aroundvi phrasalphrasal verb, intransitive: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning and not taking direct object--for example, "make up" [=reconcile]: "After they fought, they made up."
informal (be frivolous or mischievous)
胡闹 hú nào
鬼混 guǐ hùn
闲荡 xián dàng
He monkeyed around with the carburettor for a while, then found the problem in the spark plug.