variants or phoney-baloney

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of phony-baloney Now, of course, Proctor wants his phony-baloney MSP job back. Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 24 Sep. 2025 The script is by David Koepp (writer of the best Mission: Impossible, the 1996 Brian De Palma iteration), and it’s filled with shimmery red herrings and liberal lashings of phony-baloney techno-spy stuff. Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 6 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phony-baloney
Adjective
  • Punter Sean West — whose long 24-yard heave on a fake punt outgained every quarterback on the roster.
    Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Green expertly applies fake eyelashes, thick foundation and a dessert brown eye look, while Messina goes to work piling tight curls atop my head.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • James Watson, who co-discovered the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953, has died at age 97.
    Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Using what was known about biology at the time and X-ray images, the two determined that DNA had a double-helix structure - like a twisted ladder, with each rung made up of a pair of chemicals.
    Reuters, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Without the artist, the law becomes meaningless.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
  • On Saturday, a group of Texas A&M fans gathered in a hole in the LSU student section and did some of LSU’s cheers after the Tigers scored a meaningless touchdown in the final moments.
    Chris Vannini, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Snook is excellent at playing tremulous and overwhelming feeling without ever seeming hammy or phony, and Marissa’s raw emotion anchors All Her Fault in something real even as the plot reveals grow increasingly (and enjoyably) outrageous.
    Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Recent allegations of phony summit images on the world’s highest peaks ignited a debate in the mountaineering community.
    Owen Clarke, Outside, 30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Susan Shelley of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association blasted the pork-project spending as hypocritical, especially as some liberal groups and lawmakers support raising taxes or turning to voters to pass new bonds to prop up the state’s shaky finances.
    Wire Report, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Advertisement Of course, there is such a thing as being too bad—and too hypocritical.
    Shadi Hamid, Time, 3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The pop of color offers a shimmer-free (rare!) means of warming up a wedding look and works equally well at lip level.
    Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2025
  • By After Testing Over 30 Best Sellers By Siena Gagliano Unlike balms, which can make lip color slide around, a primer locks it in while keeping lips soft and comfortable.
    Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Tests in both artificial and real human saliva produced the same result, demonstrating that the single-application ELR coating could recreate enamel and withstand real-world impacts.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The artificial plateau made from earth, with connecting causeways, canals and corridors, was built in southeastern Mexico 3,050 years ago and used for around 300 years.
    Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Camacho’s sister, who placed the 911 call, had also been injured, suffering superficial cuts and bleeding from her mouth, officials said.
    Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2025
  • This is not the time for superficial love.
    Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 2 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Phony-baloney.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phony-baloney. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.

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