The origin of the word POSH

[rivergoat]

Apparently, it's an acronym which stands for:

P - port
O - outbound
S - starboard
H - homebound

in reference to which side of the boat the sun shone on on cross-Atlantic voyages (Europe to America). Supposedly, the wealthy folks who cruised alot would forget whether they were coming or going, and this acronym helped them remember.

completely pointless info, I know....

}~

 

[madamadam]

aww, i was looking for Adam.

Ah well, back to PLEBA then

 

[Tomer]

i could make an acronym with rivergoat, but I don't
too long
sorry

 

[DaveC]

R - riding
I - in
V - very
E - enormous
R - raggedy
G - girls'
O - outer
A - anal
T - textiles

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Apparently, it's an acronym

nope, sorry, it's been disproven by snopes. a good rule of thumb they say is for any acronym that's supposedly really old, it's probably not true. acronyms are a recent development in the english language.

that wasn't intended to come out mean, i'm just letting you know.

 

[nbcrusader]

Sounded good. Thankfully snopes is a good source to verify all that "true stuff" found on the internet....

 

[thrillme]

Okay, but what about the "f" word, that I've been told, was an acronym that became a word.

 

[Mr. BAW]

You want a funny one or one that I heard it stood for???


F - for
U - unlawful
C - Carnal
K -knowledge


I'm sure the geniuses here would know but I thought it stemmed from like the "old days" re: prostitution; when having relations outside of marriage was forbidden or frowned upon....

:guessing:

Example "You're under arrest, you F---er!"

at least that's what I said when I was a cop!!!

 

[Popmartijn]

Okay, but what about the "f" word, that I've been told, was an acronym that became a word.

The same Snopes page that Khanada refers to has the explanation of 'Fuck'. Or rather, it mainly deals with 'Fuck' and makes only a passing reference to 'Posh' at the end.

BTW, this is what Dictionairy.com says about the history of 'Posh':

Word History: ?Oh yes, Mater, we had a posh time of it down there.? So in Punch for September 25, 1918, do we find the first recorded instance posh, meaning ?smart and fashionable.? A popular theory holds that it is derived from the initials of ?Port Out, Starboard Home,? the cooler, and thus more expensive, side of ships traveling between England and India in the mid-19th century. The acronym POSH was supposedly stamped on the tickets of first-class passengers traveling on that side of ships owned by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. No known evidence supports this theory, however. Another word posh was 19th- and early 20th-century British slang for ?money,? specifically ?a halfpenny, cash of small value.? This word is borrowed from the Romany word p?sh, ?half,? which was used in combinations such as p?shera, ?halfpenny.? Posh, also meaning ?a dandy,? is recorded in two dictionaries of slang, published in 1890 and 1902, although this particular posh may be still another word. This word or these words are, however, much more likely to be the source of posh than ?Port Out, Starboard Home,? although the latter source certainly has caught the public's etymological fancy.

C ya!

Marty