All of us most likely have included the word "phony" in our vocabulary and have used it at one time or another. It is one of those great words that Americans seem to know innately and yet foreigners have trouble grasping the concept of it. It is a word that is both defined in the dictionary and yet seldom used in formal speech or writing.

But what exactly does it mean? The actual definition can be interpreted in many ways. Ask a scholar and he might say, "Phony means not genuine." Ask a child on the street and you might hear, "Phony is bogus." Ask a more educated child, and you will receive the answer: "Phony is anything not real." Indeed, all these general definitions suffice. "Phony" is a coined term that developed after the invention of the telephone. When it was first developed, the telephone made the voice on the other line sound fake and distorted, hence the definition and the name.

If a more extended definition is needed, then "fake" is not enough. The word "fake" is dependent upon a standard scale of truth or reality. If a person or object is accused of being phony, this implies that that person is supposed to be something else. But who is the judge presiding over this? "Phony" is frequently misused in this way. People think of counterfeit money as being phony. But this is only due to the fact that they probably wanted real money and ended up with fake money. If a person wanted counterfeit money in the first place and expected to receive counterfeit money, could it still be phony? After all, they knew what they were getting. Thus, the meaning depends upon the point of view of the person using the word. There is no universal definition. Someone who seems "phony" to one person may not seem this way to other people who know him. The same holds true for an object.

After considering this, a more appropriate definition can be conceived. "Phony" applies to an object that turns out to be different from the object expected in the first place. This is not to be confused with unexpected. Phony applies when the object was expected and received, but it turned out to be different from what was initially expected. This is usually accompanied by a strong feeling of resentment or dissatisfaction. For example, a person asked for money and expected real money. He or she received counterfeit money however. The individual in question still received money, but it is phony. If, on the other hand, counterfeit money was expected and received, then the money cannot possible be considered phony. Where does the dissatisfaction lie? When dealing with a person, one can only accuse the person of being phony if he or she deviates from what is expected of him or her. That person is not phony in general, only in the viewer’s opinion. The fact that that person is phony in their mind does not mean that everyone else will view him or her in the same way.