To be phony means that you are not real or fake. Adults generally are better at being phony compared to kids because as you get older, you become wiser. Since adults tend to be more believable than children, phoniness lacks in young ones and is found often in those who have a greater rank in intelligence. We tend to trust their opinion and judgments more than those who are not. Any time my parents were phony towards me were either when they discussed Santa arriving on Christmas, or the Easter bunny leaving candy in my basket. The only time I was to prove them wrong was finding out on my own that the tooth fairy was not real. In this case, if adults are believable, we usually find out the 'truth behind it all' from them; we have the opportunity to prove them wrong ourselves.