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Postby Fogdude » Jul Sat 01, 2017 7:26 pm

Most of us have encountered a term or word, in a film, that we also hear in everyday conversation. We usually know what it means, but we often have no idea where it originated. I can think of several, but one in particular came to mind recently.

POSH

It's actually an acronym, though most people don't know that.

It means something that's luxurious, or above average in quality & usually what only the wealthy would have access to.

It came from the words Port Out Starboard Home. British folks who traveled by sea would pay extra to have a cabin on the Port side, as they left England & then on the Starboard side, when they returned. This was extra nice, because they always had a room on the ship that had a lot of sunlight, as at that latitude, the sun was toward the south.

So, because we had ancestors who relished sunlight & could afford to pay to get rooms on the ship on different sides, depending where there was the most sun, we have a word that means 'fancy' or 'special'.

I think it's fun to find how the words we use & hear came about.
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