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US Shafted By Serenity DVD

POSTED BY: shinyxingfu
UPDATED: Thursday, December 22, 2005 17:06
VIEWED: 23746
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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 1:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Diego:
I've asked several of my Aussie friends where the Australian nickname of "pom" as a name for the British came from. I've hear highly divergent stories, but nobody seems to really know. The only consensus is that it's an insult (big surprise there). Do you happen to know where it comes from?



These look like prety reasonable definitions to me, but then I'm a Yank so I often dunno wherfore I speak...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pommie

and from:
http://www.answers.com/topic/australian-words

Pom – (also pommy) a word for an English person. Generally regarded as being mildly derogatory. The true origin of this term is somewhat obscure, and several theories abound. The Macquarie Dictionary states that it is a contraction of pomegranate, which was rhyming slang for immigrant ("imme-granate"). (See also fake etymology. Another common explanation is that "pom" originated as a term for British convicts sent to Australia; that is, as an acronym for "Prisoner of Mother England". However, this theory is not accepted by lexicographers.)

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dc4bs

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 2:20 AM

Quote:

Diego wrote:
Tuesday, December 13, 2005 14:44
I've asked several of my Aussie friends where the Australian nickname of "pom" as a name for the British came from. I've hear highly divergent stories, but nobody seems to really know. The only consensus is that it's an insult (big surprise there). Do you happen to know where it comes from?



I think it was somehow coined during the second world war. I could quite easily be wrong though. I dont think it is really that much of an insult though, I know plenty of "english" people who call themselves "Poms". One other cultural tale I know about the "english or poms" is that they rarely bathe (or dislike bathing).. or so the story goes.

P.S. I think the name "Pom" is rarely used without the adjective "Whinging" preceding it.

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 1:28 PM

yes, thats true, I'm quite excited about my christmas bath.

"I'm an artist, with an e and a beret."

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 2:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JayTee:
I apologize for my warped sense of humor that led to my earlier entry. I was just kinda making jibes at the snarky way it was put about the DVD. I actually have a great deal of respect for Britains. They've always stood with us in any confict over the last century and are the most loyal of allies. I really didn't mean to insult them. I just went overboard on my post.
Please accept my apology and sincere regrets at any hurt feelings my earlier comments may have caused.


Jaytee



I'm so glad you said that, was prepping my comeback list as soon as I read it!

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A man walks into a bar: Roll for damage.

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Thursday, December 15, 2005 2:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Calhoun:
Quote:


P.S. I think the name "Pom" is rarely used without the adjective "Whinging" preceding it.



LOL! Sorry to have left the "whinging" out!

My own favorite Aussie insult is yabo (which I take to mean roughly "dumb hick"). I also like the Puerto Rican term "Jibaro" which has a very similar connotation. Despite their injurious intents both terms have a nice sound to them and fall trippingly off the tongue.

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Thursday, December 15, 2005 3:58 AM

Quote:

Diego wrote:
Wednesday, December 14, 2005 16:14

My own favorite Aussie insult is yabo (which I take to mean roughly "dumb hick").



I've been an aussie for all 36 of my years and I dont believe I have ever heard "yabo".. How does one pronounce this? Are you sure of the spelling?

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Tuesday, December 20, 2005 1:33 AM

No, I've never seen it written, but the spelling I used was pretty phonetic (it sounds like yah-boe). The fellow who used it was a Sydney-sider. So maybe it's a local dialect thing or, then again, maybe he was just pulling my chain.

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Tuesday, December 20, 2005 2:35 AM

Quote:

Diego wrote:
Monday, December 19, 2005 15:33

maybe he was just pulling my chain.



Hehe, I think your chain has been truly yanked.

The only other thing I can think is that maybe you mis-heard the word "Abo" which is an abbreviation of the word "aboriginal". Does this fit in the context of what you heard?

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Tuesday, December 20, 2005 3:20 AM

Heh,

I suspect the Aussie term you are referring to is actually Yobbo, but to american ears may well sound like an A instead od the drawled O. Yob being the shortened version, and is also a British term.

As to the origins of Pom, I have my suspicions that it may well lie with the French. A french girlfriend once told me that while the English refer to them as Frogs, a frequent french term for the English is 'Beef & Potatoes'-ie dispariging their traditional complete lack of culinary grace. Now the French for Potato being Pomme de Terre, could hint at it's origins. Itmay have well slipped into Australian usage after World war 1 - when we served in France. And lets face it, are likely to have picked up any word that someone else was using to hang crap on the Brits.... Not that we would do that any more, or cringe about our own culture any more *ahem*

Jake

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Tuesday, December 20, 2005 7:05 AM

Most Aussies are a bunch of racist, creepoids anyway. I say put 'em up against the wall...

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