Posh

[ithildin]

I never knew this:

In the days when the only way to India from Great Britain was by sea, it was customary for wealthy passengers to carefully choose to book cabins on the cool side of the ship - port out, starboard home, hence the acronym posh.

I'm eternally delighted by these sorts of discoveries :)

Found here at Nautical Origins of Common Words and Phrases Chock full of good stuff!

Comments

[eveningblue.livejournal.com]

Oh, gosh, sorry to burst your bubble, but that's a myth, what's called a "folk etymology," wherein people believe the etymology of a word to be something it's not.

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19970415

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Well darn.

[eveningblue.livejournal.com]

Look at the bright side--it's fun to know about folk etymologies! Entertain your friends and family with etymologies of words that aren't true!

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

This is true! The bright side it is :)