12.3.2 What is the origin of the word "Pom" or "Pommy"? [BR]
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This article is from the soc.culture.australian FAQ, by Stephen Wales with numerous contributions by others.
12.3.2 What is the origin of the word "Pom" or "Pommy"? [BR]
- from daniels@rand.org (Greg Daniels):
shipping crates labeled "P.O.M.E." (Property of Mother England)
- for deverett@vms.macc.wisc.edu (David W. Everett):
Prisoner of Mother England (POME)
- from njc@robots.ox.ac.uk (Nick Cerneaz):
Piss Off Mother England
- from adally@afit.af.mil:
convict clothing being labelled P O H M for Prisoner Of His Majesty
- from ins559n@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Andrew Bulhak):
Push Off Miserable Englishman
- from ins559n@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Andrew Bulhak):
short for pomegranate, referring to the complexion of recent arrivals
who have not yet absorbed much of the Australian sun
- from Jacco.Zwetsloot@f550.n635.z3.fidonet.org (Jacco Zwetsloot):
The general concensus (amongst academics at least) is that `pom' came
through this train of words and word association: immigrants came to
be called `jimmygrants' via some sort of rhyming slang. `jimmygrants'
became `pomegranates' via another sort of rhyming slang. This in turn
became shortened to `pommy' and `pom'. While this may seem like an
incredible (in the literal meaning of the word) explanation for the
origin of `pom', it is verified in a number of books. One being "The
Australian Language" published in 1945.
- from bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM (Brian Scearce):
My "Dictionary of Historical Slang" has this to say about it:
pommy, Pommy. A newcomer from Britain, esp. from
England: Australian: C.20. The OED Sup. records it at
1916, but it was current before the Great War. Origin
obscure; possibly a corruption of TOMMY imported by
Australian soldiers returning from the Boer War
(1899-1902). Or perhaps ex. Pomeranian, a very
"superior" sort of dog. It may also have developed
from JIMMY GRANT thus: Jimmy Grant > immy-granate >
pomegranate > pommy.
"Jimmy Grant" is, as a previous poster pointed out, rhyming slang for
"immigrant" (or "emigrant").
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