pogey

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pogey

/ˈpəʊɡi/

Rhymes with -əʊɡi

Where it comes from

1891, meaning "poorhouse", possibly from British hobo slang. 1954 assistance.

noun pogeys · pogie · pogy

countable, historical, usually A poorhouse, workhouse, welfare office, charity hostel, etc.
Canada, often, slang, uncountable, usually, with the Government financial assistance, particularly employment insurance. There were no jobs for the unemployed, however. And thus many hundreds of thousands went “on the pogey,” although all available evidence indicates that they loathed doing so. To accept relief was an admission of defeat and failure, a humiliating stigma, whether the relief was indirect or direct.

Thesaurus

noun

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MLA

"pogey." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pogey. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

pogey. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pogey

Chicago

"pogey." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pogey.

BibTeX

@misc{pogey_2026,
  title = {pogey},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pogey},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}