(as) phony as a three-dollar bill

(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

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

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