Thursday, August 26, 2010

P.O.S.H.

Today, I have been doing some research on a large mailpiece we are doing with one of our suppliers.  I have been looking for vintage postcards of Europe.  On one of them I saw the word P.O.S.H.

When we opened Just Cruisin' Plus in 1988, I had heard the term P.O.S.H., but didn't know what it meant.  This term for "grand" or "first-rate" originated in the days of ocean steamship travel between England and India.  Wealthy passengers would, at some considerable cost, book round-trip passage as "Port Outward, Starboard Home."  They would book a cabin on the cooler side of the ship while crossing the unbearably hot Indian Ocean under the sun.  Abbreviated as P.O.S.H., the expression soon came to be applied to first-class passengers who could afford that luxury.

However, the reality is that the monsoon winds that blow in and out of the Asian area shift between winter and summer, so that the sheltered side of a ship would change according to the season.  During my research today, I found some old deck plans of ships during that period, and  in looking at them I found that most cabins were located mid-ship with indoor promenades or hallways along each side, so the actual definition of the origin of P.O.S.H. could be said to be taken as artistic license.

Just my bit of trivial information for today.....

1 comment:

  1. Sherrie, how cool is that! Very interesting, I didn't know the origination of the term. Thanks for teaching me something new today.

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