— phonily , adv. — phoniness , n.
/foh"nee/ , adj., phonier, phoniest , n. , pl. phonies , v. , phonied, phonying .
adj.
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.
n.
4. something that is phony; a counterfeit or fake.
5. an insincere, pretentious, or deceitful person: He thought my friends were a bunch of phonies.
v.t.
6. to falsify; counterfeit; fabricate (often fol. by up ): to phony up a document. Also, phoney .
[ 1895-1900; perh. alter. and resp. of fawney (slang) finger ring ( 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 ]
Syn. 4. fraud, imitation, hoax.