Phoney English guy (4)
I believe the answer is:
dude
'guy' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'phoney english' is the wordplay.
'phoney' becomes 'dud' (I've seen this before).
'english' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'dud'+'e'='DUDE'
(Other definitions for dude that I've seen before include "A (dandy) American city dweller" , "An American dandy out west" , "Stylish and confidant man" , "Man (American slang)" , "American bloke" .)