Dictionary

pony up en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Originally often poney. US early 19th century. According to Michael Quinion, probably not from the monetary sense of pony and instead from Latin "Legem pone mihi Domine viam iustificationum tuarum" (“Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes”), a line from Psalm 119, verses of which are traditionally used in prayer in Anglican churches on the 25th of the month, becoming associated particularly with March 25th, a traditional day of debt settlement. This etymology has been accepted by the American Heritage Dictionary.

Meanings

1. (intransitive, slang, transitive) To pay (usually a bill, debt or due).
   • Every man, save Silvy, vociferously swore that he had ponied up his "quarter:" whereupon the landlady observed that Silvy the less had not paid his reckoning. 1824 September 14, “Paunch Hogabout”, in The Atlantic Magazine, volume 1, number 5, page 343:
   • Fans willing to pony up somewhere between $900 and $1,400 — not including airfare or bar tab — can rub shoulders with their favorite acts and enjoy three to five days of food, music, Caribbean sunshine and extras like a photo with the band (no autographs, please). 2012 March 30, Joe Levy, “Rockers at Sea”, in The New York Times:
   • Only then did we learn that he doled out billions in secret, last-minute bonuses to his staff last month, just before Bank of America took over and just before the government ponied up a second bailout to cover Merrill’s unexpected $15 billion fourth-quarter loss. 2009 January 25, Frank Rich, “No Time for Poetry”, in The New York Times:
   • If entertaining TV blusterer John McLaughlin felt any contrition after ponying up a six-figure sum to settle a sexual-harassment suit in 1989, he is evidently over it. 1992 July/August, “Naked City”, in Spy, page 18:
   • Know what I'd do with that dough ... if I'd the luck to have it?¶ I'd buy War Bonds—and, God, would I hang onto them! (Bonds buy guns—and give you four bucks for your three) ... I'd pony up for taxes cheerfully (knowing they're the cheapest way to pay for this war) ... I'd sock some in the savings bank, while I could ... I'd lift a load off my mind with more life insurance. 1944 February 7, War Advertising Council, “Advert”, in Life, volume 16, number 6, page 123:

Forms

Synonyms

imburse · expend · pay the freight · pay the price · pony up · quit · pay up · shell out · foot the bill · do the needful · pay · stump up · defray · cough up · pay the piper · fork out · ante up · cough up · fork over · spend · pay up · lay out

wikipedia: Psalm 119