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Phoney

Phoney (or phony)… where does the word come from?

Posted by Marina on July 4, 2008 · Filed under Lessons  

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371 Comments and 51 threads on “Phoney”

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1 2 3
  1. moshimoshi says:
    116
    November 21, 2008 at 7:46 pm

    I love your love of words :) But I think you’ve jumped the gun with this one. Faux is the more likely precursor of phoney. ‘That’s terribly faux’ (as people indeed used to say) becomes ‘that’s terribly phoney’. The fawney-rig idea is colourful and memorable but it’s folk etymology and unlikely. When you think about it, it doesn’t make much sense that a cant word (criminal slang) would be widely known. Cant is meant to be code. It also doesn’t make sense that it would reappear in a new spelling in a new country over a century later with nothing in between. There’s no occurrence of fawney being used to mean fake in general, it only describes this type of fraud in a very limited setting. All the references to this etymology in dictionaries are prefaced with ‘possibly’. Generally if the etymology involves an entertaining story, someone’s just made it up. Faux on the other hand does simply mean fake.

  2. James says:
    115
    September 25, 2008 at 11:26 am

    HAHAHA Marina said fanny… tee-hee

  3. leonard says:
    114
    August 16, 2008 at 9:08 pm

    Random lesson—i thought a person that talks to much on a telephone was a phoney?

  4. lividemerald says:
    113
    August 10, 2008 at 11:47 pm

    A phoney thing happened on the way to the phorum…..

  5. school_dean_hot4.u says:
    112
    August 1, 2008 at 4:41 pm

    hi

  6. runawayscott says:
    111
    July 20, 2008 at 12:29 pm

    Could you wear that outfit when you make me teacher’s pet? :shock:

  7. okay4now says:
    110
    July 10, 2008 at 11:53 am

    You’re not phoney Marina, not even close…

  8. okay4now says:
    109
    July 10, 2008 at 11:51 am

    Guess what, this con is still played in Paris. Woman walks by and pretends to find a gold ring in the street, except that she is Seventh Day Adventist & doesn’t really know if it’s gold & doesn’t want it but what luck & share the luck by giving her something for the ring…

  9. jvmiller03 says:
    108
    July 9, 2008 at 10:25 pm

    Ruse; Scam.

  10. kneeling_nothing says:
    107
    July 7, 2008 at 9:41 am

    Great joke, Marina. Being self-ironical is something only great personalities have. Congratulations.

  11. hutchiee says:
    106
    July 7, 2008 at 6:16 am

    I thought for sure the phoney example was not the bag – before the pan and zoom it’s not visible, but Marina’s breasts are front and center. At least you can’t fake intelligence.

  12. TongueTwislers says:
    105
    July 7, 2008 at 12:51 am

    testing my gravitar

    • TongueTwislers says:
      105.1
      July 7, 2008 at 12:51 am

      man i’ve done everything and it still doesen’t work :mad:

    • pedantickarl says:
      105.2
      July 7, 2008 at 1:04 am

      TongueTwislers, the email address that you use for this HFW site and the gravatar site have to be exactly the same.

      If you are using the same email, then make sure you activate the image that you wish to use. I think you click on the image in your image list, then you’ll get a confirmation dialog. Once confirmed, it can take a few minutes for the gravatar to show up.

  13. mrchex says:
    104
    July 6, 2008 at 6:18 pm

    Bait & Switch.

  14. sniperskaya says:
    103
    July 6, 2008 at 6:09 am

    You mean like when women have phoney blond hair and phoney big breasts? :razz:

    • sniperskaya says:
      103.1
      July 6, 2008 at 7:04 am

      Или американский претендовать быть русским снайпер??

    • mergatroidal says:
      103.2
      July 6, 2008 at 7:27 am

      I can only speak on what I know, and US guys in the West still seem to be churning ‘em out as cute as buttons.

      • Bob says:
        103.2.1
        July 6, 2008 at 10:08 am

        Don’t you mean as cute as Buttons?

      • mergatroidal says:
        103.2.2
        July 6, 2008 at 11:18 am

        If I went through ninety percent of every website I’ve ticked to, I sometimes wonder what I’d find.

        I just don’t have time.

        And Bob, between me and you, what I’ll need in the future is something like Marina to talk to the world about computer cognition with on http://www.HotForMergatroid.us. I’m taking over …, Her, and others, a team, we’re gonna Rock Tradition, and the very foundations of the world.

        If I had the money of a bill gates, we’d've already been setting up scripts and production and have the show on the road.

        Imagine Marina saying, “… no, sorry mergatroidal. I have other goals and plans in life.” :arrow: :roll:

        “Like what?”

        “…, and what about real fame and fortune, Marina?”

        Ha! :roll: I can’t really imagine the conversation progressing too far and I don’t get what I want. :smile:

        (I’m sittin’ and waitin’ for this freakin’ gold mine to start rollin’ thunder …)

      • mergatroidal says:
        103.2.3
        July 6, 2008 at 11:23 am

        Oops! Rock Tradition was supposed to link to something. Tick Coming Soon …

      • mergatroidal says:
        103.2.4
        July 6, 2008 at 2:47 pm

        I need a full time editor to go over my posts before submitting them.

        Change the second to the last post, third paragraph to, … and Bob, between you and I,

        and the fifth paragraph would read better if I wrote instead, … imagine Marina writing (not saying) in response to this post, “… no, sorry mergatroidal. I have other plans and goals in life.”

  15. CaptainJack says:
    102
    July 6, 2008 at 3:07 am

    “Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung.” – Voltaire 1694-1778

    Thats just hilarious! I wonder why that is?

  16. mello-g37 says:
    101
    July 6, 2008 at 2:58 am

    :smile: the word HERO bea good one to do .

    As you marina have been like a super hero ….opening my mind to Words you Just take for GRANTED ……..there is that word again….Granted …….good one as well……ooxooxoxox

  17. ilikesexytime says:
    100
    July 5, 2008 at 11:43 pm

    Hey Marina what state do u live in cuz it says its 2 in the afternoon there but its 11 at night here

  18. xennelul says:
    99
    July 5, 2008 at 10:16 pm

    Hi, if you make me your teacher’s pet, can I appear in a video with you?

  19. rafahatesyou says:
    98
    July 5, 2008 at 8:02 pm

    love ya honey!!! i was wondering the origin of the “xoxo” stuff, and what does it mean

  20. keyser71 says:
    97
    July 5, 2008 at 7:21 pm

    Love ya!

    I would like to known the origin of the word/phrase ‘down-pat’

    Thanks a million.

  21. omidxiu says:
    96
    July 5, 2008 at 7:15 pm

    hi hfw…..hope u be fine …i havnt had teacher like u….any wa thanks for sharing information….my question is ,,,newyear celebration( christmas) …who made it?..and where comes from?….

  22. lostforwords says:
    95
    July 5, 2008 at 4:39 pm

    If you haven’t seen Orson Welles’ film “For for Fake.” It’s a very smart and funny movie, and it’s is not well-know at all. A forgotten gem.

    On the issue of being phoney in general, a philosophical question: isn’t it part of being human to be fake, or at least a little fake.

    I mean, don’t we all have a certain idea of who we are (or would like to be) and we play that role–better or worse? Our image of ourselves is pretty much a fabrication whether we admit it or not. If you are teacher, you play a role. If you’re a business person, it’s a role, etc, etc.. If you’re “hot,” it’s a role. You could be beautiful and not be hot and vice-versa–up to a point of course.

  23. stokesjrj1 says:
    94
    July 5, 2008 at 4:28 pm

    In celebration of the new law in California where you can’t… Read the rest » wht does this mean can’t read the rst, these are videos how do you read them unless your talking about reading body language?

  24. lynx644 says:
    93
    July 5, 2008 at 3:12 pm

    where dose the word “Sorry” come from?

  25. doothemad says:
    92
    July 5, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    I’m new to the site but I gotta say it’s great. I’ve got way too many words I’m curious about but for now how about … acquire or ludicrous? Thanks, Duane
    PS I had no idea were Phoney came from. Pretty cool.

  26. victor immature says:
    91
    July 5, 2008 at 2:42 pm

    Marina Orlova ~Ingenue~

    Hi, all the replies from hotforwords.com threads are in my spam folder.

    vi

    • Marina says:
      91.1
      July 5, 2008 at 2:52 pm

      Yeah.. that totally sucks victor immature! I don’t know why all my emails go to people’s spam folders! Arrgghh!

      • roadrunrnch says:
        91.1.1
        July 5, 2008 at 6:07 pm

        Did you add a spam link in your eMails??

      • sniperskaya says:
        91.1.2
        July 6, 2008 at 6:06 am

        Not to mine, Marina. They all go right to my inbox where they are supposed to.

      • pedantickarl says:
        91.1.3
        July 8, 2008 at 10:16 pm

        Hello Marina,

        Over the years, ISPs have been caught in catch 22 in trying to deal with spam. What most ISPs have done is to make the default email spam settings very aggressive whereby the majority of emails go to spam.

        For example, an innocent word such as “hot” could be flagged as spam. The ISPs have put the onus on the user to tweak their spam settings in their web based control that works for them.

        Possible Recommendation:
        Could you change your “HELP” menu at the top to “HELP / FAQ”.
        Then, add a sentence or two about email settings.

        Example:
        In order to receive emails from HotForWords, make sure that you have checked your email spam and filter settings to allow emails from my domain HotForWords.com.

        If you did not receive an expected email from HotForWords, check your spam folder and make the appropriate adjustments in your email settings. Contact your ISP if you need assistance with your email control panel settings.

        Humbly Yours, K.

    • annuddermale says:
      91.2
      July 5, 2008 at 3:22 pm

      usually, adding an e-mail address to the contact list for an e-mail client obviates spam filtering on that address, so try adding blogreg-do-not-reply-11@hotforwords.com to your contacts and see if that helps…

      also, my employer is notorious for not paying much attention when moving e-mails around and adds friends to his “blocked senders” list, so you might check there, too… :cool:

  27. agibson94 says:
    90
    July 5, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    the word minigun who made it and where did it come from thank you andy gibson

  28. guso1020 says:
    89
    July 5, 2008 at 1:47 pm

    Hello.
    I’ve question about adding -ish at the end of some words (ex. short person saying ” I’m tall -ish”). I’ve heard it few times already and becouse english isn’t my first language I was wondering what does it mean and what is it origin.
    And becouse I moved to England some time ago I was wondering about another thing: why American “center” is British “centre” (there was some other word with er->re swithed but I can’t remember it right now).
    I’ll be glad if somebody could help me with that.
    Cheers :grin:

    • annuddermale says:
      89.1
      July 5, 2008 at 2:15 pm

      well, everyone knows Brits colour their humour in the centre…

      ’cause they can’t spell…

      as for “-ish,” people use it when they can’t think of the correct term but want to make some sort of comparison to a tern others would know…or perhaps to avoid a “politicaly-incorrect” term…

      like comparing, as you say, a “shortish” person to a taller one…”shortish” deflects the supposed insult when a person is “height-challenged”…

      oh, and btw, i’m not baldish…i’m just plain bald… :mrgreen: :cool:

    • danvonbose says:
      89.2
      July 5, 2008 at 2:22 pm

      It.s a generous use of the suffix (word ending) -ish, extending its use to more words.

  29. capman911 says:
    88
    July 5, 2008 at 1:43 pm

    I still havn’t figured out the end of the video. Was it another blooper or were you still hung over from the other video. Tell us the secret of the closeup of the hand bag. :cool:

  30. CaptainJack says:
    87
    July 5, 2008 at 1:23 pm

    I notice no one commented on Marina golden bag. Oh thats right you were looking at something else. So is that real gold? Maybe is gold plated?Might be! Who knows? Im more interested in what in the bag! How does it go?… You can learn a lot about a woman just by the contents of her bag? :twisted:

    • capman911 says:
      87.1
      July 5, 2008 at 1:34 pm

      I wonder if she meant the gold belt was a phony. Or maybe the bag was not a Gucci. I don’t know. I know thats what they are there for but I hate to talke to a womans upper frontLes and not to her face. :wink:

      • CaptainJack says:
        87.1.1
        July 5, 2008 at 2:30 pm

        Yea I have that same problem when talking to women. I know it rude to look below her face, but my Neanderthals instinct just overwhelms me :sad: . I wish their was a switch to turn it off. Its like holding your breath. Ya I can do it for a minute or two but its killing me!!!!! :lol: :lol:

    • jcr says:
      87.2
      July 5, 2008 at 1:53 pm

      I’m too busy trying to keep up with the comments. I wrote two articles today but tried to read the comments in between and it was really hard. This board flies. I didn’t know guys (and some women but it seems to be mostly guys ) could be so chatty :smile: I guess if the topic is the right topic, they can!

      • capman911 says:
        87.2.1
        July 5, 2008 at 2:18 pm

        Mrs JCR we are just as gossipy as ladies are when we are in a group. :smile: We have a few ladies who comment, but we could welcome more. It makes for intersting comments and conversation. :lol:
        Mike

      • CaptainJack says:
        87.2.2
        July 5, 2008 at 2:35 pm

        Yea I cluck like a chicken here. I too have the same problem. I have many projects im working on and I take too many breaks to read the comments. Im getting the flow down now. I normally just respond to the emailed replies to my comments. When Im done for the day I’ll go back and reply to some comments. Even on ones that are a few days old. :grin:

      • CaptainJack says:
        87.2.3
        July 5, 2008 at 2:41 pm

        Hey JCR, Go to gravatar.com and make yourself an avatar. It will help you find your comments faster visually. As you scroll down if you see any comment below yours then you can do a quick reply and move on. Its a speed trick I used to whip through the blog.

      • annuddermale says:
        87.2.4
        July 5, 2008 at 2:51 pm

        All of my responses are reasoned and restrained, not given to fancy or felonious dribble. Indeed, I am the epitome of forthrightiousness & verisimilitude.

        Oh, and pigs do fly!!!… :mrgreen:

      • jcr says:
        87.2.5
        July 5, 2008 at 2:51 pm

        You…you mean….you aren’t a Captain named Jack?! :wink:

      • jcr says:
        87.2.6
        July 5, 2008 at 2:53 pm

        Oops, that reply was to Captain Jack but then anuddermale replied before my reply showed up and…I’m officially confused.

      • annuddermale says:
        87.2.7
        July 5, 2008 at 3:26 pm

        lol…happens, jcr…

        and i should’ve used “drivel”…but since i drool ’round Marina, “dribble” will do… :mrgreen:

      • CaptainJack says:
        87.2.8
        July 6, 2008 at 3:38 am

        Well I see it easy to confuse you Jcr. All one has to do is turn sideways and that interferes with your radar and one becomes invisible…
        - Something Robin Williams said in one of his stand up routines.

        What do you mean I’m not a Captain named Jack? Im Jack Sparrow! Haven’t you seen me in the movies? I’ve been in 2 movies, 1 TV show, one rock video. Cher – If I Could Turn Back Time
        The ship is the USS Missouri BB-63 in the now defunct Long Beach Naval station. You can’t see me because Im way in the back. heheh The Might Mo was my home for 4 years. She is still my true love after all these years. I’m getting teary eyed just watching the video. And all she is.. is a boat made out of metal. Hum. Weird…

  31. capman911 says:
    86
    July 5, 2008 at 12:45 pm

    If anyone wants to run a speed test on their computer here is the site I use.

    http://tech.msn.com/speedtest.aspx

  32. capman911 says:
    85
    July 5, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    I would like to suggest a word horticulture. Thanks

  33. r0ck3r911 says:
    84
    July 5, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    ur hot……oh and for the word i would like to know “slut” thx :mrgreen:

  34. arabia48 says:
    83
    July 5, 2008 at 12:20 pm

    Hello Marina,

    I would like to know the origin of the word ‘alcohol’,
    is it true that it has an arabic origin ?

    Thank you.

  35. moggle says:
    82
    July 5, 2008 at 12:04 pm

    can you give me the origin of the word nincompoop? thanks :smile:

  36. havubud says:
    81
    July 5, 2008 at 11:50 am

    Can you give me the origin of the word Encyclopedia? thanks! :grin:

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