| 释义 |
▪ I. phoney, phony, a. and n. orig. U.S.|ˈfəʊnɪ|
[Of uncertain origin.]
A. adj. That has no real existence; fake, sham, counterfeit; false; insincere.
1900Ade More Fables 138 ‘Overlook all the Phoney Acting by the Little Lady, Bud,’ said the Fireman. 1916C. Sandburg Chicago Poems 63 You're only shoving out a phoney imitation of the goods. 1924Scribner's Mag. Aug. 204/1 Hope you didn't mind when I gave you a phony name. 1933Sun (Baltimore) 2 May 8/7 A line of argument..which I have long suspected is quite phoney. 1935C. Day Lewis Time to Dance 60 You funny old, phoney old bogus man! 1949Chicago Tribune 17 Sept. iii. 18/3 Stop moaning about that phony blonde and her phonier lawsuit. 1951J. D. Salinger Catcher in Rye ii. 19 They had this headmaster, Mr. Haas, that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life. 1956W. Slim Defeat into Victory ix. 181 On our side we had the somewhat phoney propaganda that followed Wingate's raid and the more solid influence of General Giffard's character. 1970Daily Tel. 10 Nov. 12/4 Like his singing, he is gentlemanly: no long hair, exaggerated clothes, or phony emotionalism. 1974E. Brawley Rap (1975) i. x. 169 My parole officer violated me on another phony beef.
b. Special collocations, as phoney war, the period of comparative inaction at the beginning of the war of 1939–45; also transf. and fig.; so phoney peace.
1940Times 19 Apr. 7/2 When the Allies seemed slow at getting off the mark,..it was whispered to the American public that this was a ‘phoney’ war. 1940Manch. Guardian Weekly 12 July 25 During the eight months of the ‘phoney’ war everything seemed to be running smoothly between Great Britain and France. 1940G. Greene Lost Childhood (1951) 115 This can never at any time have been a ‘phoney’ war: from the word go, these famous individuals were on the job. 1944J. S. Huxley On Living in Revolution 9 The inadequacy of British production and planning during the Chamberlain ‘phony war’ period. 1947Partisan Rev. XIV. 347 Within each state the necessary psychological atmosphere would be kept up by complete severance from the outer world, and by a continuous phony war against rival states. 1954N. Coward Future Indefinite iii. 114 The Germans invaded Norway and Denmark... The reaction of the Americans to the break-up of what they themselves had christened the ‘Phoney War’ would be interesting to observe. 1960O. Manning Great Fortune xv. 199 This sort of phoney war can't go on for ever. Someone's going to move some time and we'll be trapped. 1964New Statesman 4 Sept. 301/2 The electoral phoney war is almost over. 1972Daily Tel. 29 Mar. 2/6 A curious ‘phoney war’ atmosphere has pervaded Ulster during the past few days. 1977Guardian Weekly 27 Feb. 9/2 At this stage of phoney peace, the Americans are being careful to say or do nothing that might alarm Israel.
B. as n. A phoney person or thing.
1902C. L. Cullen Six Ex-Tank Tales 99 If youse tinks f'r a minnit dat youse is goin' t' git away wit' a phony like dat wit' me youse is got hay in y'r hemp, dat's wot. 1916San Francisco Call & Post 28 Nov. 12 ‘Don't Mr. Jenks know a lot of people?’ ‘They're all phonies.’ 1938E. Ambler Cause for Alarm xi. 170 He's probably gone to the trouble to check the first lot and found that they're phoneys. 1952C. Armstrong Black-Eyed Stranger i. 5 Lynch is no international jewel thief. He's a tired old phony. 1958K. Amis I like it Here xvi. 200 The kind of prancing, posturing phoney who'd say he was better than Fielding. 1971F. Forsyth Day of Jackal ii. xv. 262 ‘Leave the others to continue checking the remainder, just in case there is another phoney among the bunch,’ instructed Thomas. 1971S. E. Morison European Discovery Amer.: Northern Voy. iii. 79 Adolf Rieth..tells of European false runic inscriptions and other famous phonies, one of which, the ‘turkey frieze’ in Schleswig Cathedral, pertains to America. 1977New Yorker 27 June 79/1 This simple test—a way of telling the phonies from the truly committed.
Hence ˈphoneyness, phoniness, the state or quality of being phoney; deceitfulness, unreality, insincerity; ˈphonily adv., in a phoney manner; falsely; insincerely.
1942Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §315/1 Fakeness, phoniness. 1947D. M. Davin Gorse blooms Pale 212 You felt a sort of phoneyness in your power. 1949D. Smith I capture Castle ix. 139 Am I just trying to rationalize my phoniness? 1959Times Lit. Suppl. 17 Apr. 224/4 A racket is phoneyness organized. 1961C. J. Rolo in Webster s.v., Phonily flamboyant amours and impossible deeds of derring-do. 1961W. C. Booth Rhetoric of Fiction ii. vii. 193 Though attracted by youth and freshness, he can see the phoniness of the American worship of Hollywood's idea of youthfulness. 1976T. Gifford Cavanaugh Quest (1977) iii. 51 Tim didn't have any phoniness about him; he was what we used to call a regular guy. 1976Economist 16 Oct. 15/2 Name another [parliamentary democracy] that could pass through the past 18 months and still have a parliament doing business phonily as usual. 1978P. McCutchan Blackmail North iv. 38 He brightened rather phonily. ‘It could have been worse.’
▪ II. phoney, phony, v. slang (chiefly U.S.).
[f. the adj.]
trans. and intr. To counterfeit, falsify, make up. (See also quot. 1950.)
1942Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §207/12 Disguised,..phonied up. 1950H. E. Goldin Dict. Amer. Underworld Lingo 156/1 Phony up, to counterfeit; to set up an impressive front or agency for purposes of swindling; to alter the amount of money indicated on a check; to change the serial number of a stolen bond or commit any similar criminal act; to turn traitor to the underworld. ‘I got a chill on (doubt the courage of) this dude we're working with. He might phony up on a drop (under police pressure coincident with arrest).’ 1952New Yorker 26 July 43, I ain't phoneying them woids. 1963‘E. McBain’ Ten plus One (1964) xv. 173 I'll phony it up, stall him. 1968‘G. Bagby’ Another Day iii. 53 He..made no effort to phony up an excuse. 1972B. F. Conners Don't embarrass Bureau (1973) ii. 200 It's tough for a cop to stay completely honest... It's like an agent who won't phoney his overtime. 1977Daily Tel. 8 Dec. 3/7 Furs are often not clearly labelled. Cat skins could be passed off as ‘bunny’. You can phoney anything up. |
