Dictionary

pogey en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈpəʊɡi/

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (countable, historical, usually) A poorhouse, workhouse, welfare office, charity hostel, etc.
2. (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. 1984, Michiel Horn, The Great Depression of the 1930s in Canada (Canadian Historical Booklet no. 39), Canadian Historical Association, p 10

Forms

Relateds

pogey bait

Synonyms

EI · unemployment insurance · pogey house · UI · dole · employment insurance · pancrack