Origin of Phrases - H
Hanky Panky
About 150 years ago, British master magicians used to swing handkerchiefs with one hand to keep viewers from noticing what they were doing with the other. This practice was so common that the use of a hanky came to be associated with any clandestine or sneaky activity. It's thought that since magicians used the words hocus-pocus, a rhyming word was added to give it pizzazz.