porky
1 Americannoun
plural
porkiesadjective
-
belonging to or characteristic of pork
a porky smell
-
informal fat; obese
noun
Usage
What does porky mean? Porky is used to describe food as having the flavor of pork (the meat from a pig), as in The bacon gives the dish a nice porky flavor. This sense of the word can be applied to dishes that have a prominent pork flavor or to pork itself when its flavor is strong, as in I think a lot of sausage is bland, but this is so flavorful—really nice and porky. The word porky can also be used as a way to call someone chubby. This may be intended to be funny, but it’s always insulting to compare someone to a pig.In the U.S., porky is used in some places as a slang term for porcupine.In the U.K., porky is used as a slang term meaning a lie, as in I think he’s telling a porky. Example: I like my ramen to be extra porky, so I doubled the amount of pork belly in it.
Other Word Forms
- porkiness noun
Etymology
Origin of porky1
First recorded in 1850–55; pork + -y 1
Origin of porky2
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05; porc(upine) + -y 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Looney Tunes characters — including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig — plus the Hanna-Barbera roster of favorites like “Scooby-Doo,” “Yogi Bear” and “The Flintstones” are among the most influential in the animation sphere.
From Los Angeles Times
The brand-new feature-length “The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Story,” starring Daffy and Porky — whose teaming goes back to 1937 —and originally set for Max, was raffled off to another distributor, who released it theatrically this past weekend.
From Los Angeles Times
"It was hard and anybody in that position who says it wasn't, I think will be telling you porky pies."
From BBC
Sylvester is panicked, Porky oblivious.
From Los Angeles Times
"I thought: 'Uh-oh. David’s told me a porky pie here,'" Underwood says.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
