Phrase Origins: Posh

It seems odd that "posh" would be considered a phrase. However, many people think the origin of "posh" is "POSH" as an acronym. This can be found in the song "Posh" from the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when it says "Port out, starboard home, posh with a capital P-O-S-H, posh."

It is thought that this is the origin of the word. It was said that it came from the time of the Raj when ships sailed from Britain to India and back. It was thought that the best cabins were "posh" because the port was in the shade when heading to India from Britain and the starboard was in the shade when heading from India to Britain. It is said that sometimes this was chalked on the luggage or on tickets issued.

There is no photographic evidence of the letters being chalked on luggage. Chalk marks that are claimed to be found cannot be counted as many people may add the chalk marks just minutes before "finding" a trunk with the letters. People claim to have seen tickets with "POSH" on them, but Peninsula and Orient (P&O) claims that these tickets were never issued. There is no evidence of a P&O ticket that ever said "POSH," and P&O tickets still exist from that time.

It is uncertain how the word "posh" originated. A character called Murray Posh is found in a novel called The Diary of a Nobody which was first printed in 1888 in the British satirical magazine, Punch . The character is described as a "swell." The story is by George and Weedon Grossmith.

In 1903, P.G. Wodehouse wrote, "That waistcoat... being quite the most push thing of the sort in Cambridge" in Tales of St.Austin .

In 1908, the poet Edward Fitzgerald was said to have "the most unaccountable admiration and friendship" for his boatman, Joseph Fletcher. Fletcher was known as "Posh." Today, it would not be surprising to see it printed that they were in a relationship rather than disguising the relationship behind the words "most unaccountable admiration and friendship."

In 1913, a dialogue between an RAF officer and his mother in a comic uses the word "posh."

It goes as follows:

Officer: Oh, yes, Mater, we had a posh time of it down there."
Mother: "Whatever do you mean by 'posh', Gerald?"
Officer: "Don't you know? It's slang for 'swish'"

Throughout the 19 ^th century, "posh" was also Romany for "money."

Even though "port out, starboard home," is complete nonsense like "golf" meaning "gentleman only, ladies forbidden" as acronyms were not around until the 20 ^th century and the word "acronym" didn't exist until the 1940s, people still prefer to repeat the false story that posh originated by meaning "port out, starboard home."

Source:

Martin, G. (n.d.). POSH - Port out, starboard home. The meanings and origins of sayings and phrases . Retrieved March 28, 2011, from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/port%20out%20starboard%20home.htm