Interesting that the definition of posh according to my OED is "smart, stylish, first-rate"... why does the word seem to have class connotations for vernacular use? So I am either winning or losing, I'm not entirely sure!
It's because POSH was used to descirbe the people travelling on ships who had money and could afford the shady side of the boat: Port Out, Starboard Home. All the common folk had to but up with being sunburnt on the sunny side
i don't have an accent! just because i'm from the south, doesn't make me posh. Sal is posh!! you're the one with the accent!!
tis true I must be common cos I am tanned ish... spanish irish. But I do talk posh for a yorkshire girl that is
I knew it ... this is merely myth ... in terms of its etymology there is no class connotation to the word "posh", originally just meant smart or natty. The term posh is used particularly in Britain to describe those with social pretensions. Popular Folk etymology states the expression originated from the phrase "Port Out, Starboard Home", referred to the most desirable cabin locations on ships travelling to and from British colonies in the Far East. However, extensive searching of shipping company records and tickets from that period has failed to reveal any evidence for this claim. The fact that this folk etymology is only recorded 17 years after the terms earliest known appearance (in the 25th September 1918 issue of Punch) also lends weight to the theory that this etymology is merely apocryphal. http://www.fact-index.com/p/po/posh.html