Not clear? Read on:
Britain and India are both in the northern hemisphere so the port (left-hand side) berths (cabins) were mostly in the shade (therefore cooler) when travelling out (easterly) and the starboard ones where cooler when coming back. So the best and most expensive berths (cabins) were POSH. It meant that the people in these cabins got the coolest and therefore best accommodation on the ships going to and from India to the UK. This in turn refers to money: who could afford these berths? And privilege: who would be travellling in first class berths?
BUT..(and I hate to say this because its a great story which gets repeated all the time) there's no actual evidence to confirm this story though it gets repeated endlessly.P&O say they have never issued such tickets
The true origin of 'posh' is uncertain.
It seemed to me that the word ‘posh’ probably originated as slang, and so here are two more tales of the possible origin of the word:
ReplyDelete1. The word means rich, aristocratic, wealthy, loaded, fancy, toff, toffee nosed, upper crust, well off, or well to do. The origin of this word actually derives from an old Romany Gypsy slang word for pennies, i.e. if you've a lot of pennies you're well to do, rich, etc. In this light, the word posh can be used as a term of light hearted derision.
2. Early 20th century: perhaps from slang posh, denoting a dandy.
Intriguing. Now some people are going to have to look up 'dandy'...
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