Does POSH really derive from the acronym: Port Out Starboard Home? Does it mean the stylish way to travel onboard a ship?
by 
bubbalint
ANSWERS: 2
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According to the "Oxford Reference Companion to Ships and The Sea" ed1976; "POSH, a slang term for the wealthy, supposedly derived from the letters P.O.S.H. (Port Out, Starboard Home) which used to be printed on first class tickets of passenger traveling on the P & O line rich enough to pay extra for cabins on the port side of the ship going out and the starboard coming home in order to avoid the heat and glare of the sun in the Indian Ocean."
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The New Oxf. Amer. Dict.--and most linguists--says there is "no evidence" to support the above folk etymology.
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