“Pom” comes from pomegranate, which was used as particularly tenuous rhyming slang for “immigrant”.
It is widely believed that the word pom is short for pomegranate, which Australians and New Zealanders used as rhyming slang for the word immigrant during the 20th century.
pom. A British person, especially one from England. (Originally applied to an immigrant from the British Isles.) The word pom has its origin in wordplay. An early, derisory term for an immigrant in Australia was the rhyming slang jimmygrant (sometimes written as Jimmy Grant), recorded in 1844.
A clipping of pomegranate. In reference to the British, first attested in Australia in 1912 as rhyming slang for immigrant with additional reference to the likelihood of sunburn turning their skin pomegranate red.
“Pom” is a long-running nickname from Australia and New Zealand to describe British people, and as a term it's been subject to various debates: its origins and if it is offensive. The term is more than 100 years old.
or pommie (ˈpɒmɪ ) nounWord forms: plural -mies. (sometimes capital) slang, mainly derogatory. a mildly offensive word used by Australians and New Zealanders for an English person. Sometimes shortened to: pom.
Ten Pound Poms (or Ten Pound tourists) is a colloquial term used in Australia and New Zealand to describe British citizens who migrated to Australia and New Zealand after the Second World War.
One attractive explanation claims the letters 'POME' or 'POHM' were stamped on the clothing of British prisoners in the late 1800's, as an acronym of 'Prisoner of Mother England' or 'Prisoner Of Her Majesty.
So where does it come from? The English word pom-pom came about in the 18th century from the French word pompon, which referred to a small decorative ball made of fur, feathers, ribbon, wool or string.
'Lass' or 'lassie' is another word for 'girl'. This is mainly in the north of England and Scotland. 'Lad' is another word for boy. 'Bloke' or 'chap' means 'man'.
Some of the top slang names for Australians include: Aussies: This one's a classic and is used to describe Australians worldwide. Ozzies: A variation of Aussies; this one is more commonly used by Americans. Roo: Short for kangaroo, this term is used affectionately to refer to Australians.
December 3, 2022 by Polly The most common British slang terms for rich are loaded, minted, and wadded. These are by far the most universal and commonly used slang terms in Britain meaning rich. You might hear others, such as "flush". But for most Brits, "minted" or "loaded" are often more than adequate.
Australia, once known as New South Wales, was originally planned as a penal colony.
One of the most infamous Australian idiosyncrasies is the word for flip flop: the 'thong'.
Known as the Ten Pound Poms, this mass exodus was a scheme devised by the Australian and British Governments in order to help populate Australia. An assisted passage scheme, established and operated by the Australian Government, attracted over one million British migrants between 1945 and 1972.
The Winjin' Pom (the name is a pun on the "whinging pom", an Aussie expression used to refer to a person of British origin who constantly complains about things he has to face) caravan is famous not only for talking but also for flying, something which occurs several episodes in after a hijack by The Crows.
The harsh environment in which convicts and new settlers found themselves meant that men and women closely relied on each other for all sorts of help. In Australia, a 'mate' is more than just a friend and is a term that implies a sense of shared experience, mutual respect and unconditional assistance.
Compared with tassels and jeweled trinkets, the pompom was an economically sound embellishment, as it could be scrapped together with leftover yarn. Finally, sailors used to wear hats with pompoms on them to protect them from bumping their heads in tight spaces or when the seas were rough.
Yankee is sometimes abbreviated as “Yank.” People from all over the world, including Great Britain, Australia, and South America, use the term to describe Americans. (In Spanish, it's spelled yanqui.) Sometimes, it's a negative description. Other times, it's a playful term.
Brit. Meaning: (Noun) An obvious shortening of the term “British,” this slang is one of the most commonly used terms to refer to British people and is used by both foreigners and locals.
Children born in Australia, with a birth certificate issued in Australia, are not automatically Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents. To be an Australian citizen, at least one parent must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia at the time of the child's birth.
In all, around 250,000 ten pound poms went back to the UK, though – interestingly – half of this lot later changed their minds and returned to Australia, becoming known as 'boomerang poms'.
While the historical events that the series are based on and the Assisted Migration scheme of the '50s did indeed exist, the characters and stories in Ten Pound Poms are works of fiction.
Geezer: A significantly aged old man. In the UK, it is a slang term used most often to refer simply to a "man" or "guy". Geriatric: Offensive slang (when used in a non-medical context only).