Why are the English referred to as Poms...?

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markus0032003

I think that might be the best explanation, although it is taken from NZ:
Pom, pommy or pommie were originally
Australian terms, first recorded there 1912, for
an immigrant from Britain, especially England.
‘Pommy’ was first recorded from within New
Zealand in the 1920s, ‘pom’ from 1946. They
did not replace the usually non-derogatory
New Zealand ‘homey’ as the common
colloquial term for ‘Briton’ until World War 2.
The derogatory ‘pongo’, originally applied to
British soldiers, also came into general use
during that war.The words derive from a
wordplay associating ‘pomegranate’ (also from
1912 in Australia, and pronounced ‘pommy’
or ‘pummy’ ‘grannit’), a name for a British
immigrant, with the Australian rhyming series
‘immigrant’, ‘Jimmygrant’ (New Zealand 1845,
Australia 1859), ‘Pommy Grant’ or ‘pummy
grant’ (the last two recorded in Australia from
1912-13 but not in New Zealand); thence to
the elliptical or familiar forms ‘pom’ and
‘pommy’. Unlikely derivations (that is, ‘not
supported by evidence’) include: ‘Prisoners of
Mother England’; ‘Permit of Migration Ireland
or England’; ‘Pompey’, naval slang for
Portsmouth; rhyming slang for ‘Tommy’; and
French slang ‘paumé’, ‘lacking in energy’.
Compounds and derivatives include
‘whingeing pom’ (Australia 1962, New Zealand
1985), for a stereotypically complaining British
immigrant, ‘Pomland’ (1974), ‘Pomgolia’
(1976), ‘Pongolia’ (1967), ‘pommie-bashing’
(1987), ‘Pommy bastard’ (1940) and
‘pommyism’ (1920), the assumption of an air
of superiority.
Roger Hall’s play Prisoners of Mother England
(1979) is a recent literary use of the term and
treatment of immigration from Britain as a
central theme.

Here in New Zealand, we don't take it as an offense, I'm a Kraut, my colleagues are Poms, Paddies, Springboks, Slitties and what ever.
But we're all becoming Kiwis somehow, sooner or later.

You may also refer to the following page for more explanation and other words used for British:
http://www.answers.com/topic/alternative-words-for-british

missie

I was always told that it meant Prisionor Of Mother England. Im not sure why, but i suspect it wasnt meant as an affectionate term. These days its just one of those words that has been passed down and is like saying "Aussie" i guess.

Weatherman

There are 2 theories

1) Prisoners sent to Australia were given pomegranates to avoid scurvy on the voyage ..... though this conflicts with Americans calling us Limeys because sailors ate limes for the same reason

2) Comes from the convicts we sent there that had Prisoner Of Her Majesty on their prison uniforms (POHM - which became POM)

IT HAS NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH THE FRENCH FOR APPLE OR POTATO

Barbados Chick

I thought everyone called you Limeys because the sailors ate limes to prevent scurvy???

aviatenavigatecommunicate

I asked this question not long ago.
Here is the link to the answers I got. They are more detailed than any of the answers here so far.

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnSUy7qo3D7ni1NJyIwclyrg5gt.?qid=20061022024956AAy0T8Y

flatratejoe

You got me!! I heard that Limmie's was given to them, because lime was used by the sailors to rub on their body to avoid getting their skin infected. But Poms? I wish u luck on that one..

Nita C

Poms comes from the French word for potato "pomme de terre" and it refers to the vast amounts of potatoes consumed by the English every year.

jono1o1

because of apples basically the french for apple is pom

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