phony

(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 in the United States.) 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

phonier than 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 in the United States.) Primarily heard in US. The guy said he was selling Rolexes, but this thing is phonier than a three-dollar bill. The senator's hammed-up, teary-eyed speech was phonier than a three-dollar bill, if you ask me.
See also: bill, phony

phony

1. adjective False or fake; not genuine; counterfeit. He was caught selling phony Rolex watches beneath the Eiffel Tower. He said he was a police officer, but his uniform looks phony, if you ask me.
2. noun A person or thing that is fake, not genuine, or counterfeit. He was exposed by investigators as a phony trying to sell snake oil to his customers. If you look at the placement of the logo, you can tell that the computer is a phony.

phony up

1. To create a counterfeit or illegitimate version of something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "phony" and "up." It turns out the company had been phonying up its accounts for years to conceal the flow of dirty money it had been laundering. He said the police had phonied the evidence up in order to frame him. For $30,000, they'll phony up a birth certificate, passport, and driver's license for you.
2. To exaggerate something in a disingenuous, misleading, or manipulative manner. A noun or pronoun can be used between "phony" and "up." These shows really like to phony it up with their so-called "dramatic reenactments." I just think all these people are phonying up their outrage over something that is really just a non-issue.
See also: phony, up

phony-baloney

1. noun, slang Someone who is not sincere, genuine, or trustworthy. That guy's a total phony-baloney—you can't trust a word he says.
2. adjective, slang Fake or made up. Oh please, don't tell me you believe in all that phony-baloney homeopathy stuff?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*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.

(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

phony

1. mod. bogus; fake. This money looks phony to me.
2. n. someone or something bogus. Look here, you phony, get out of my office!
3. n. a phone call where the caller hangs up the minute the telephone is answered. No one was on the telephone. It was just a phony.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • as phony as a three-dollar bill
  • (as) phony as a three-dollar bill
  • phony as a three-dollar bill
  • (as) queer as a three-dollar bill
  • as queer as a three-dollar bill
  • dill
  • ninebob
  • phonier than a three-dollar bill
  • queerer than a three-dollar bill
  • (as) bent as a nine-bob note
References in periodicals archive
Roberts contracted Miami, Florida-based product management services leader Innovation Direct[TM] to represent the Phony Fisherman to potential licensees for a 2 year period.
Innovation Direct[TM] Designated as Official Licensing Liaison Between Phony Fisherman Invention and Industry
Poor woman, she trusted her son and son-in-law and invested all her saving in this phony project.
A phony project
of the world-class fake and phony I was yet to be, I knew even then
A Shoving Leopard
Ultraviolet light has been used to detect counterfeit (phony) money for over 30 years.
Make this amazing phony money detector
The phony Web page's anonymous developers must be identified in order for the archdiocese to determine if additional legal action is required to protect and restore Puntarelli's reputation, Otolski said.
Archdiocese sues Facebook
TONY: And I have Phony, Phony Tonyed across the south of our nation.
Angela & Tony; sunday review Keeping it Real!
TRENTON, N.J., August 7 -- A husband and wife were sentenced to state prison for three years and three and a half years respectively after they pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling phony car insurance cards.
Guilty plea in N.J. for producing phony insurance cards
Being naughty paid off for the Religious Right this year, with groups raking in tons of money by hyping phony claims of a "war on Christmas."
'War on Christmas' proves lucrative for the Religious Right
In addition to advisories and legal efforts against makers of phony supplements, the FTC has a new consumer education campaign to help people avoid phony diabetes cures.
Don't get taken in by diabetes "cure" scams
"Disabled veterans may be the targets of those phony calls because they are frequent users of the VA health care system."
Veterans warned about prescription scam
Hilly soon recognizes the psychiatrist for a manipulative phony but Ivan, flattered by the man's attentions, falls under his spell, to Hilly's cost.
Koja, Kathe. Going under
Online scam artists use this tactic to lure victims to phony Websites that look like they are from an authentic company, organization, or agency.
Avoiding the 'phishing' hook: new online scares and virus attacks undermine your business
To avoid publishing phony research, scientific journals require experts to review all research papers before they are published, says Monica Bradford, executive editor of Science.
Phony cloning
It's a strong flyer and has proved an unusually fast spreader of pathogens such as those for phony peach disease or for Pierce's disease, which can kill a grapevine in 2 years.
Sharpshooter threatens Tahiti by inedibility
The dialogue is often laced with humor that characters deliver without sounding like phony television creatures, and the show promises to be fun to watch ...
Amazingly graceful