phony

¹ American  

[foh-nee] / ˈfoʊ ni /

Or phoney

adjective

phonier, phoniest

1. not real or genuine; fake; counterfeit.

   a phony diamond.

2. false or deceiving; not truthful; concocted.

   a phony explanation.

3. insincere or deceitful; affected or pretentious.

   a phony sales representative.

---

noun

plural

phonies

1. something that is phony; a counterfeit or fake.

   Synonyms:

   hoax, imitation, fraud

2. an insincere, pretentious, or deceitful person.

   He thought my friends were a bunch of phonies.

verb (used with object)

phonied, phonying

1. to falsify; counterfeit; fabricate (often followed byup ).

   to phony up a document.

-phony ² American  

1. a combining form used in the formation of abstract nouns corresponding to nouns ending in -phone:

   telephony.

---

-phony ¹ British  

combining form

1. indicating a specified type of sound

   cacophony

   euphony

---

phony ² British  

/ ˈfəʊnɪ /

adjective

1. a variant spelling (esp US) of phoney

---

Usage

Where does phony come from? Phony is a word that means "fake" or "made up." But there is nothing fake about this unusual origin story for the word. While the exact origins of phony are unknown, the word likely comes from an old con known as the fawney rig. Fawney is from an Irish word for "finger ring," and rig is an old term for a "trick" or "swindle."As for how the trick worked, the swindler would "accidentally" drop a piece of cheap jewelry in front of their target. Then, they would pick it up while acting relieved that they hadn't lost such a supposedly valuable ring. If the scheme was a success, they'd sell it to the target for much more than it was actually worth.By the 20th century, the spelling of the word was eventually changed from fawney to phony and came to refer to anything fake or counterfeit.The roots of these other words may get a rise—of laughter or surprise—out of you. Run on over to our roundup of them at "Weird Word Origins That Will Make Your Family Laugh."

Other Word Forms

• -phonic combining form
• phonily adverb
• phoniness noun

Etymology

Origin of phony¹

1895–1900; perhaps alteration and respelling of fawney (slang) finger ring (< Irish fsptáinne ), if taken to mean “false” in the phrase fawney rig a confidence game in which a brass ring is sold as a gold one

Origin of -phony²

< Greek -phōnia; -phone, -y ³

Example Sentences

Mom was willing to mail phony postcards from halfway across the world, so we shouldn’t underestimate her sneakiness.

From Literature

He is hired as an intern by a phony physician whose reputation is founded on knowledge of “a certain professional slang, humored by a medical face.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Arthur Julian, a writer on “F Troop,” noted that “real audiences sound phonier than the laugh track. Sometimes they freeze up and act unnatural.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Indiana’s rise has happened as college football’s gone sideways, shedding its phony amateurism for something professionalized and completely amok.

From The Wall Street Journal

Despite their clear affection for these women, the Dardenne brothers never sugarcoat their characters’ unenviable circumstance or latch onto phony bromides to alleviate our anxiety.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bogus
• counterfeit
• forged
• sham
• spurious