pogey

[ poh-gee ]

noun,plural po·geys.
  1. Slang.Also pogy.

    • a package of food, candy, or other treats sent to a child at boarding school, a person in an institution, etc.

    • candy or a treat.

  2. Canadian Slang.

    • an institution maintained by private charities or government funds for the housing of the aged, sick, orphaned, or feeble-minded; an old-age home, charity hospital, orphanage, or the like.

    • any form of charity or government relief.

    • unemployment insurance provided by the government.

adjectiveCanadian Slang.
  1. of, relating to, or obtained through charity or government relief: pogey shoes.

Origin of pogey

1
First recorded in 1890–95; earlier pogie workhouse < ?

Words Nearby pogey

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pogey in a sentence

  • That fire threatened Enchanted, once it should sweep through the chimney draught of pogey Notch.

  • “And if they can get enough men ahead of it perhaps they can stop it in pogey Notch,” Lane concluded.

  • Mr. Wade has left the top of the mountain with the girl, and will meet Mr. Barrett to the south of pogey Notch.

  • And roaring a good-natured cheer over their shoulders, the “Busters” filed away into the mouth of pogey Notch.

  • Had not the wind been at their backs, whistling from the north, the passage of pogey Notch would have proved a savage encounter.

British Dictionary definitions for pogey

pogey

pogy

/ (ˈpəʊɡɪ) /


nounplural pogeys or pogies Canadian slang
  1. financial or other relief given to the unemployed by the government; dole

  2. unemployment insurance

    • the office distributing relief to the unemployed

    • (as modifier): pogey clothes

Origin of pogey

1
C20: from earlier pogie workhouse, of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012