pornocchio

Disney

The term pornocchio is a blend of porn (short for pornography) and Pinocchio.

Pinocchio is the character of an 1883 story by Italian Carlo Collodi. In the story, a wooden puppet in the shape of a boy is brought to life. Every time Pinocchio lies, which is often, his nose grows. Many are familiar with the story of Pinocchio from the 1940 Disney film of the same name.

An early use of the expression is in the Italian title Il Pornocchio, given to a 1971 American grindhouse sex-comedy Cry Uncle! The cult film was directed by none other than Rocky (1976) director John G. Avildsen. In 1987, another porn film entitled Pornocchio was released. (Tag line: “It’s not his nose that grows!”)

In 2008, the British tabloid The Sun denounced Paul McCartney’s ex-wife Heather Mills as pornocchio after divorce hearings revealed dishonesty.

The Sun

Another British tabloid, The Mirror, took to pornocchio in describing Deputy Prime Minister Damian Green, who resigned from office after lying about keeping porn on his work computer.

#Pornocchio pervert,liar + disgraced MP #DamianGreen who viewed EXTREME porn finally quits after multiple lies to us all + police services. Yet #TheresaMay's mate + draconian policies say #internet is bad place? Cover up for their dirty abuses. Wheres 4 yr child ring inquiry btw?

— Dean Ashton (@Dean_Tonberry) December 21, 2017

People have variously coined pornocchio as a joke term for someone who lies about watching pornography or embellishes their sexual activities. Urban Dictionary has included such terms since 2008.