to hate the word 'posh'

[inkyfingers]

What does it mean?! I heard on R1 after interview with Ellie Goulding (so hip, me ).The DJ commenting later that she was posh because she said 'oh goodo' about something. (Which TBH I'd never say ). But what would she think if she'd heard him? Only, I guess that the DJ isn't posh. It's not a compliment. I don't label people common...

Oort Out Starboard Home (posh).
It's a reference to the days when ships sailed from England to India via the Suez Canal in Egypt and which links the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian
Ocean.
On the outward journey, wealthy passengers occupied cabins on
the left (port) side of the ship to avoid the sun, and on the
homeward journey from India to England, they occupied the right
(starboard) side cabins, thus again avoiding the sun. Therefore port
out, starboard home - posh - and only well-off people could afford
these cabins, so they're known as posh people.

It's always used as a insult is it not? Certainly not a compliment.

Does any ever say 'Hello yes, I am posh and from a posh family?"

I think posh is quite a common word isn't it? :o

agree curry. must avoid using it. I go to posh restaurants, doesn't everyone.

And I have a posh frock......

I am posh - read into that what you will :o

DrNorthener - I thought that origin of 'posh' was disputed, said to have been found after the word had been in use for a while.

Really? You may be right then.

Not entirely sure, must have been on QI or somesuch.

I don't get it either. When I was in hospital after my third, and my kids and husband were there as we were waiting to be discharged, a staff member popped in to check on things and asked the kids names. After I told her, she loudly said "Well, aren't you the family with posh names?" and walked out while I sat there with my jaw in my lap. It didn't sound very nice coming from her, and I stil have no idea what she meant as I thought there names were quite normal.

Along with 'posh', the other one that really irritates me is a term often used by the Daily Mail (who else?); 'toffee nosed'.

Does anyone ever use that term in RL? I thought it had died out with Lord Snooty in the Beano back in the early seventies.

(I'm not too fond of a whole host of other tired cliches the DM uses other, but that would be hijacking the thread)

I think 'toffee nosed' only exists in the minds of Daily Mail journalists, like the way people at The Sun always use the term 'manhood' to describe a trouser sausage. Not that I read either paper; being terribly posh myself, I only take The Telegraph

shudder - one should never use the word. Smart only, if one is .

why do people always drag these stories out as fact? www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq/posh.htm

Snopes says the port-out-starboard-home story is not posh, but tosh.

The only people I have ever heard using the word posh are very common

The only people I have ever heard complain about the word posh are very posh.

as a word for nice or smart like posh frock, it sounds OK; but as NJK says when it's a put-down it, it's bloody annoying, because you can't say that someone's kids have chavvy or common names ('so shut up about my kids then!')

You are very smart if you have a 'frock' . Mine's from Hobbs doncha know...

I've only ever heard posh as an insult. If I got my kids something nice to wear or new shoes (never expensive at all) I'd get the 'isn't that posh!' Don't know if they are complimenting how nice it looks, so ribbing me as if to say 'ooh look who has money to burn!' I then have to say how little I spent for it almost as an apology!