Questions you never got around to Googling the answers to

[srw]

I was assured by my late father, born in India when under the Raj, that this was true.
POSH stood for Port Out, Starboard Home.
Going out from from the Blighty to India the expensive cabins were on the Port side of the ship, which when one entered foreign climes (anywhere east of Gibraltar) the cabin would be on the cool (northern) side of the ship in constant shade.

The cheap cabins, such as those where my late father was put as a boy on his way to and from school once a year, were on the south side of the ship, where you cooked as soon as the sun came up. It meant the south facing cabins were unusable during the day, which forced everyone on the cheap/sunny side into the shade of the common areas during the day, the POSH people however could stay in their cabins

So people going on the regular lines between the centre of the Empire and the colonies in the east were happy to pay extra to travel POSH

[QUOTE 5024861, member: 259"]I was told something like this by my big brother who was a navy officer, but then I read it was all a load of rubbish in Wikipedia. Ho hum.[/QUOTE]

It's a load of rubbish.

There's a good and systematic debunking of this perennial myth (which was doing the rounds online well over 20 years ago) on Snopes:
https://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/posh.asp

The most likely etymology is from Romany.

 

[Brains]

[QUOTE 5024861, member: 259"]I was told something like this by my big brother who was a navy officer, but then I read it was all a load of rubbish in Wikipedia. Ho hum.[/QUOTE]

Wikipedia. I rest my case.

(I'm in shipping, Ship owners never miss a trick, now or then. If there was a way of making a few extra bucks on a half full ship by selling the cabins on one side for more than the other they would do it. Ryan Air would do the same today if they could

 

[PeteXXX]

DuckDuckGo is a much better search engine, and it doesn’t track you...
I know! I asked google

 

[classic33]

It's a load of rubbish.

There's a good and systematic debunking of this perennial myth (which was doing the rounds online well over 20 years ago) on Snopes:
https://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/posh.asp

The most likely etymology is from Romany.

More likely is the slang for small coinage.

But there's always theft, highwaymen & Dandy's in the connection.

 

[classic33]

DuckDuckGo is a much better search engine, and it doesn’t track you...
I know! I asked google

You believe what google told you?

 

[raleighnut]

Enough of this boaty crap, what I'd like to know is why a bottle of Malt Whisky never lasts for more than 2 days once I've opened it. Do the Whisky fairies come in the night.

 

[PaulSB]

Always suspected we got a second class education in the 1950's ! ;

I wonder what other duff information I absorbed?

I wonder if I could claim compensation, a Class Action with @PaulSB perhaps?

Now I'm retired the cash would be handy. I remember my mother thought it true as well. True or not it's a good story

 

[raleighnut]

Someone with NO taste pours it down the sink?

You could be on to something there, I'm pretty sure I haven't drank it all. although I could be wrong.

 

[Markymark]

Enough of this boaty crap, what I'd like to know is why a bottle of Malt Whisky never lasts for more than 2 days once I've opened it. Do the Whisky fairies come in the night.

Someone with taste pours it down the sink?

A fairy with taste? Not something I'd find on this thread

 

[srw]

(I'm in shipping, Ship owners never miss a trick, now or then. If there was a way of making a few extra bucks on a half full ship by selling the cabins on one side for more than the other they would do it.

Read this:

https://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/posh.asp

 

[Markymark]

Still bitter that I rejected your advances, eh?

If I was bitter for everyone who did that I'd not have time to breath!

 

[jefmcg]

If I was bitter for everyone who did that I'd not have time to breath!

Wait, what? Aren't you the pursued and rejector?

 

[Markymark]

Wait, what? Aren't you the pursued and rejector?

Oh, yes, erm, obviously, that's what I meant

 

[SteveF]

If I was bitter for everyone who did that I'd not have time to breath!

You sure you're not a tory MP?

 

[Markymark]

You sure you're not a tory MP?

The Tory party are a bunch of self serving arrogant bastards....so I can see why you thought that.