An emphatic American slang expression for something fake, fraudulent, or completely insincere — a rhyming compound that doubles down on the phoniness for comic effect. If something is just 'phony' it's suspect; if it's 'phony-baloney' it's spectacularly, laughably fake. The phrase is often used with exasperation or theatrics — politicians, advertising claims, and obviously insincere apologies are prime candidates. The baloney (bologna) element adds a whiff of cheap, low-quality nonsense to the accusation.
That tearful press conference was pure phony-baloney — nobody in the room believed a single word.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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(US, slang) fake; fraudulent.
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