Etymythology of posh, P. O. S. H.

[Garson O'Toole]

The etymythology of the word "posh" (port outbound; starboard home) is
a very popular example of a false etymology. OED has a 1914 citation
for the adjective posh, but the earliest cite for the  etymythological
explanation is much later in 1935.

OED (December 2006 online) posh, adj.
Smart, stylish, splendid, luxurious. Also (chiefly Brit.): typical of
or belonging to the upper class; (affecting to be) superior or
genteel; ‘snooty’, pretentious.

1914    E. C. Vivian Brit. Army from Within v. 86   The cavalryman,
far more than the infantryman, makes a point of wearing ‘posh’
clothing on every possible occasion--‘posh’ being a term used to
designate superior clothing, or articles of attire other than those
issued by and strictly conforming to regulations.

The Merriam Webster online FAQ has a discussion of the earliest known
publication of the fanciful etymology:

The first appearance of the acronymic origin in print that we know of
was a letter to the editor of the London Times Literary Supplement of
17 October 1935. The writer, an Englishman, wanted to enlighten the
editors of the Oxford English Dictionary Supplement, who had marked
its origin obscure; he identified port out, starboard home as "an
American shipping term describing the best cabins."

http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq/posh.htm


I have located a 1937 citation that prints a slightly different
version of the tale and refers to an earlier publication in a
periodical called "Saint Martin's Review". I do not know when the
article in "Saint Martin's Review" appeared. Perhaps this information
might interest list members who have investigated this etymythology.

Cite: 1937 December 21, The (Daily) Gleaner, Between You & Me:
Tit-bits Of Current Happenings Reviewed In Daily Sketch by Meddler,
(NA Page 25),Column 2, December 21, 1937 Kingston, Jamaica.
(NewspaperArchive)

I don't think the word "posh" has yet found its way into any standard
English dictionary, even though it is pretty general use over there.
The "Saint Martin's Review" is responsible for the following
derivation of it. "It is said to have come from the custom of opulent
East Indian Nabobs who, content with nothing but the best, engage
cabins Port Outside Starboard Homewards." The derivation of a good
many other words in our language is quite as fantastic.

I also located a match in a volume that Google Books assigns a 1936
date. GB in its inscrutable wisdom now claims that there is no match.
The following information is from electronic records created in July
2010. This citation is unverified because the volume was too difficult
to access on paper or microfilm.

Title: The Army quarterly, Volumes 33-34
Authors: Guy Payan Dawnay, Sir Cuthbert Morley Headlam (bart.)
Publisher: William Clowes & Sons, Ltd., 1936
Page: 358 (page number from GB snippet display)

Extracted text:
... cushy " from Hindustani is surely well established, and
conjectures of a Romany source must arise from the similarity of many
Hindustani and Romany words; while to connect it with " cushion "
sounds suspiciously like pure fancy. But these derivations are elusive
things: thus " posh " (stylish, smart) has lately been claimed in the
Sunday Press both for Suffolk dialect and for Romany, while a third
correspondent suggests that it is simply the initials of "Port Out
Starboard Home," indicating the most favoured and expensive side for
cabins on the way to and from India ; Mr. Partridge adds yet another
conjecture, a corruption of the Scottish " tosh." Again, "to get his
goat " may come, ...

Additional background on this topic is provided at these links:
Michael Quinion discusses the word posh at World Wide Words here:
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pos1.htm

Dave Wilton discusses posh at Word Origins here:
http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/more/464/

Merriam Webster has information in its FAQ:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq/posh.htm

The Phrase Finder website discusses posh here:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/port%20out%20starboard%20home.html

Garson

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org