Pony Up Meaning | Idiom Origin and Examples

Script: Pony Up Idiom Meaning To pony up means to pay what is owed or due; to settle one’s debt; to pay one’s fair share. Usage of Idiom This idiom can apply to money owed someone or money that has to be paid on a recurring basis, such as rent. Pony up is sometimes, as well, used to mean the same as ante up, including in games of poker or other games of chance. Examples Of Use “You owe me fifty bucks and I need the cash. Pony up,” said Mick. “This winter was unusually frigid, causing homeowners to have to pony up much more than usual for heating bills.” “You can’t mess around with loan sharks. You’d better pony up fast or else.” “My mother’s church has 11 members and everyone has to pony up more than their fair share to keep it going.” “The city is trying to get this administration to pony up for the mounting security costs.” Origin of Idiom Although you may hear ‘pony up’ in reference to poker, where it means to put up money or something of value, the same as ante up, this idiom did not derive from poker. To pony up is an American expression with roots in British English. It has been used since at least 1825 and comes from the British word poney, which meant a small amount of money. This may have come from comparing a small amount of money to a small horse and, in fact, the word pony is still used today in reference to small things such as a small glass of beer. Curiously, poney has long been used to refer to a specific sum of 25 pounds, although in the 18th century this was a quite large sum of money. There are only a handful of other English idioms that use the word pony. I’ve already covered the idiom ’dog and pony show’ in another video. Another such idiom is ’one-trick pony.’ A one-trick pony is a person or group that has only one skill or talent and seems to be able to do little else. This idiom is usually used with derision, implying that a one-trick pony has little value or nothing much to offer. This idiom most likely comes from the idea of a circus having a pony that can only do one trick, the implication being that such a circus would be boring.