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posh
posh / päsh/ inf. • adj. elegant or stylishly luxurious: a posh Munich hotel. ∎ chiefly Brit. typical of or belonging to the upper class of society: she had a posh accent. • adv. Brit. in an upper-class way: trying to talk posh. DERIVATIVES: posh·ly adv. posh·ness n. ORIGIN: early 20th cent.: perhaps from slang posh, denoting a dandy. There is no evidence to support the folk etymology that posh is formed from the initials of port out starboard home (referring to the practice of using the more comfortable accommodations, out of the heat of the sun, on ships between England and India). |
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Cite this article
"posh." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "posh." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-posh.html "posh." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-posh.html |
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POSH
POSH, an acronym deriving from the phrase ‘Port Out Starboard Home’ which came to stand for the wealthy shipboard travellers who could afford to travel in this way. The letters were said to have been printed on the first-class tickets of passengers travelling on the P. & O. Line (see ocean liners) to the Far East, indicating that they had paid extra for cabins on the port side of the ship going out and the starboard side coming home so as to avoid the heat and glare of the sun in the Indian Ocean. However, no ticket bearing these initials has ever been produced to confirm this.
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"POSH." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "POSH." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-POSH.html "POSH." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-POSH.html |
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posh
posh (sl.) tiptop, ‘swell’. XX. of unkn. orig.
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T. F. HOAD. "posh." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "posh." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-posh.html T. F. HOAD. "posh." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-posh.html |
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posh
posh •awash, Boche, Bosch, bosh, brioche, cloche, cohosh, cosh, dosh, Foch, galosh, gosh, josh, mosh, nosh, posh, quash, slosh, splosh, squash, swash, tosh, wash
•kibosh
•mackintosh, McIntosh
•backwash • car wash • brainwash
•wish-wash
•eyewash, Siwash
•limewash • whitewash • hogwash
•mouthwash • musquash
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Cite this article
"posh." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "posh." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-posh.html "posh." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-posh.html |
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