phony

(as) phony as a three-dollar bill

Completely and obviously false, fake, or illegitimate; not genuine or authentic in the slightest. (There has never been a three-dollar bill in circulation by the United States' government.) Primarily heard in US. The course claims to teach you how to get rich in a hurry, but I can tell it's as phony as a three-dollar bill. The senator's hammed-up, teary-eyed speech was phony as a three-dollar bill, if you ask me. The guy said he was selling Rolexes, but this thing is as phony as a three-dollar bill.

See also: bill, phony

phonier than a three-dollar bill

Completely and obviously false, fake, or illegitimate; not genuine or authentic in the slightest. (There has never been a three-dollar bill in circulation in the United States.) Primarily heard in US. The guy said he was selling Rolexes, but this thing is phonier than a three-dollar bill. The senator's hammed-up, teary-eyed speech was phonier than a three-dollar bill, if you ask me.

See also: bill, phony

phony

1. adjective False or fake; not genuine; counterfeit. He was caught selling phony Rolex watches beneath the Eiffel Tower. He said he was a police officer, but his uniform looks phony, if you ask me.

2. noun A person or thing that is fake, not genuine, or counterfeit. He was exposed by investigators as a phony trying to sell snake oil to his customers. If you look at the placement of the logo, you can tell that the computer is a phony.

phony up

1. To create a counterfeit or illegitimate version of something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "phony" and "up." It turns out the company had been phonying up its accounts for years to conceal the flow of dirty money it had been laundering. He said the police had phonied the evidence up in order to frame him. For $30,000, they'll phony up a birth certificate, passport, and driver's license for you.

2. To exaggerate something in a disingenuous, misleading, or manipulative manner. A noun or pronoun can be used between "phony" and "up." These shows really like to phony it up with their so-called "dramatic reenactments." I just think all these people are phonying up their outrage over something that is really just a non-issue.

See also: phony, up

phony-baloney

1. noun, slang Someone who is not sincere, genuine, or trustworthy. That guy's a total phony-baloney—you can't trust a word he says.

2. adjective, slang Fake or made up. Oh please, don't tell me you believe in all that phony-baloney homeopathy stuff?

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

*phony as a three-dollar bill

 and *queer as a three-dollar bill

phony; bogus. (*Also: as ~.) This guy's as phony as a three-dollar bill. The whole deal stinks. It's as queer as a three-dollar bill.

See also: bill, phony

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

(as) phony as a three-dollar bill

and (as) queer as a three-dollar bill

mod. phony; bogus. The whole deal stinks. It’s as queer as a three-dollar bill. Stay away from him. He’s phony as a three-dollar bill.

See also: bill, phony

phony as a three-dollar bill

verb

See as phony as a three-dollar bill

See also: bill, phony

phony

1. mod. bogus; fake. This money looks phony to me.

2. n. someone or something bogus. Look here, you phony, get out of my office!

3. n. a phone call where the caller hangs up the minute the telephone is answered. No one was on the telephone. It was just a phony.

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.