Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. of individuals or objects, affected, ostentatiously ‘artistic’, effeminate poss. homosexual.

1937		J. Curtis There Ain’t No Justice 122: That’d been a lovely wallop he had caught poncy Wattsy.
1965		J. O’Grady Aussie Eng. (1966) 71: Incidentally, the name ‘Poncy Ponce’ is hilarious to Australians.
1966		T. Keyes All Night Stand 69: At that moment [...] the poncy Greek-looking doorman hustler stepped out.
1974		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell Plays Solomon (1976) 58: It isn’t easy to put up a confident front [...] when you’re wearing nothing but a poncy dressing-gown.
1979		F. Norman Too Many Crooks Spoil the Caper 132: A poncey little Italian joint off the King’s Road.
1981		A. Payne ‘You Need Hands’ in Minder [TV script] 27: You’ll have to phone up some poncey garage with a tow truck.
1985		P. Corris Make Me Rich 101: I’m glad you changed out of those poncy shoes .
1989		T. Blacker Fixx 47: Poncy Pringle was, [...] removed from office after Jones and Spitteler found him [...] mud-wrestling with a local police constable.
1996		J. Byrell Lairs, Urgers & Coat-Tuggers 9: [T]he poncy baker also couldn’t give a blurt about fine horseflesh and so has the animal harnessed to one of his carts [ibid.] 207: ‘I mean, Scholar, shit it won’t be anything poncy ... just chicken and ham ‘n’ plenty of piss’.
1998		G. Burn Happy Like Murderers 152: For many years their natural enemy had been the wearers of long hair – beatniks and poncey art-college students.
1999		Observer Rev. 20 June 16: Their objective was to make food that was ‘poncy’ and ‘revolting’.
2001		A. Sillitoe Birthday 202: I talked you into getting rid of that poncy long hair.
2001		J. Bryant Real Aussies Drives Utes II 104: And no poncy automatic either, like that milk crate on wheels Em had wanted.
2005		H. Mantel Beyond Black 79: That doesn’t look too poncey.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 318: Get rid of that poncey stubble and take your sideburns up to the top of your ears.
2018		G. Disher Kill Shot [ebook] [H]e asked his lawyer to bring him a moisturiser and a decent shampoo [...] Nothing too poncy; he didn’t want to smell like a bunch of flowers.

2. weak.

2012

(con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 250: Just as well it’s pi.e. heroin] this poncy brown shite; some of tnat white gear [...] would have sent her sailing north of Iceland.