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pommie
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what does each letter in the word pommie stand for
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Firefly's right...it isn't an acronym. Nobody knows for sure what the etymology of �pom/my/mie' is, but neither the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) nor the Australian National Dictionary (AND) even mentions the idea that it might have anything to do with prisoners or acronyms involving prisoners - eg from Prisoner of Mother England.
Here's a key historical fact...'Pommy' appeared nowhere in print before 1915 and b) �Pom' then appeared four years later. (Both meant �a British soldier'.) If �pommy/pom' had anything whatever to do with prisoners or acronyms, why did they not appear on paper anywhere until 130 years after Australia became a penal colony and about three generations after the last convicts were sent to New South Wales? Both the OED and the AND say the source is obscure, but suggest �pommy' might be associated with 'pomegranate', a concept first outlined in 1923, within a decade of the word's first appearance in print. The OED claims this to be (quote): "the most widely-accepted" etymology, which makes sense for two reasons...a.pomegranate very roughly rhymes with 'immigrant' and hence, "immygran(i)t/pommygranate" was possibly a jokey catcall first used by schoolboys - and b. the pomegranate is a bright red fruit resembling the sunburnt skin of newcomers to Australia. Unfortunately, neither the OED nor AND is available free online, but if you click http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pom1.htm you will find a reliable web-page on the matter. It was produced by the noted etymologist/lexicographer, Michael Quinion. He, too, dismisses the acronymaniacs' ideas, so it is pretty clear - despite there being no total proof - that �pomegranate' is the way to go...Forget the convicts!
The phrase is spelt 'POME' It is a derisive term used by our Antipidean friends to describe an Englishman. It derives from the old days of deportation in irons to Australia. Prisoners were forced to wear clothing with the letters 'POME' on it. This stands for 'Prisoner Of Mother England'Since most of the prisoners who didn't die quickly became fathers of Aussie children this terms should best be levelled at Aussies and not Englishmen!!
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