Where "Porky" Comes From
"Porky" is short for "porky pie" (or "pork pie"), Cockney rhyming slang where "pie" rhymes with "lie" — drop the rhyming word and keep only "porky," and both speaker and listener still know the full phrase. Green's Dictionary of Slang first records it in the UK in 1943.
It took a while to cross the world: the earliest dated Australian citation Green's carries is from The Age (Melbourne) in 1991, nearly half a century after the UK original, though it's since become a naturalised, everyday piece of Australian slang. "Telling porkies" describes a lie that's mildly dishonest rather than gravely deceptive — a white lie, an exaggeration, a diplomatic untruth — which is likely why it travelled so easily.
Source:
"He's telling porkies again."
How Aussies Actually Use It
Used lightly to call out a fib, usually a small or harmless one rather than a serious lie — "he's telling porkies again" carries a bit of amusement rather than real accusation.
It's one of the rhyming slang terms that's crossed over into completely everyday, unremarkable use.
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