5/3/2023 0 Comments Pommie slang![]() The best guess at this time is that "pommy" was based on the word "pomegranate" - either because the redness of the fruit supposedly matched the typically florid British complexion, or because (like "Johnny Grant") it was used as rhyming slang for "immigrant. noun (humorous, Australia, colloquial, slang) A quick wash using a face cloth, often while still partly clothed. Moreover, nobody has yet turned up corroborating evidence that "Prisoner of His Majesty" or "Prisoners of Mother England" were actually common designations for criminals transported to Australia. It comes from P.O.M.E. This amusing anecdote is doubtful as anything more than a fanciful invention, as acronymic origins antedating the mid-twentieth century are automatically suspect, and the use of "pommy" has been recorded at least as far back as 1915. As a nation the Australians rarely use polysyllables when one will do and so pom became the pejorative name for a newly-arrived British immigrant. Pommie is the not-so-nice term used for the British and is widely used by the Kiwis and the Aussies. We were as dry as a Pommies towel after working out in the sun all day, so we all went to the pub for a pint. Accordingly, we now have the story that criminals transported to Australia were designated "Prisoners of His Majesty" or "Prisoners of Mother England" (some versions claim the convicts bore one of these legends printed on the backs of their shirts), and thus the acronym "POHM" or "POME" eventually evolved into the slang term "pom" or "pommy." 'Pommy' (sometimes spelled 'Pommie') is a potentially offensive Australian term for a British person, and this expression mocks their perceived subpar bathing habits. The origins of "pommy" having been lost in the mists of time, someone needed to cook up an etymology for it, preferably one equal to the pejorative sense of the word. Guy 1: Hey bro, you got some pom on you Guy 2: Sorry dude, just spent it all on some kush. The word pom is commonly used by bums and trailer trash in the southern part of the Netherlands. I am not all that keen on Aussie being applied to me. Derived from the Dutch word 'pomp' (which means 'pump') which is sometimes used as a metaphor for cash flow. Given the huge number of British migrants in Australia, I don’t think it is necessarily derisive. Pommy" (or "pom" or "pommie") is a primarily Australian (and largely derisive) slang term used to indicate a recent immigrant from Great Britain, or a Brit in general. As others have pointed out, Pom and Pommie are Australian slang.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |