[Ads-l] Further Antedating of "Phony / Phoney"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Apparently transatlantic - if rare - by 1887:

1887 _Fermanagh Mail and Enniskillen Chronicle_ (May 2) 2 [N]: The
deacon, then, without a word/ Held out a plate for money;/ The beau,
as frightened as a board [sic],/ Had none, that wasn't foney.

The ancient "fawney rig" is described in the Chicago Tribune (June 20,
1881), p. 3 [N], where the word is still restricted to metal rings
palmed off as solid gold.

JL

On Tue, Sep 8, 2026 at 6:30 AM Shapiro, Fred
<00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> phony (OED 1893)
>
> 1887 Republican (St. Louis) 31 July 7/5 (Newspapers.com)
>
> "DOSE tiamonds was of te purest vater.  Do you think I would wear dot phony jewelry?"
>
> Fred Shapiro
> .
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org