i got called a pom and a limey yesterday?

Question

just wondered were the words pom and limey came from and what do they mean?

Answer 1

yes americans call us limeys,and the aussies call us poms i think it is meant to be a insult

Answer 2

Limey
Limey is an old American and Canadian slang nickname for the British, originally referring to British sailors. The term is believed to derive from lime-juicer, referring to the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy practice of supplying lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy in the 19th century. The term is derogatory in the sense that the British would be allegedly more preoccupied with the savings of limes over lemons which were traditionally used to prevent scurvy. The term is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 1880s. A false etymology is that it is a derivative of "Gor-blimey" ("god blind me!").

The term Limey evolved into a verb "to lime" which means to hang out. The British sailors "Limeys" would hang out in the urban areas when off-duty and patronise the local prostitutes. This has been immortalized in the old calypso "Jean and Dinah" by the Mighty Sparrow in 1956.


Pommy
The term Pommy for a British person is commonly used in Australian English, New Zealand English and South African English and Afrikaans Speakers, and is often shortened to Pom. The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies.

One theory is that, as the majority of early immigrants to Australia were British, it is rhyming slang for "immigrant" from a contraction of the word "pomegranate", or possibly more directly related to the appearance of the fruit, as it bears a more than passing resemblance to the typical pale complexioned Briton's skin after his or her first few days living under the hot Australian sun.

Another theory is that POM is a shortened acronym of Prisoner of His/Her Majesty (POHM). As many of Australia's first settlers were convicts, sentenced to transportation, this theory holds that upon arrival in the country they would be given a uniform with POHM emblazoned on the back, and that convicts with an extended stay on Australian soil would no longer have to wear the shirt and would often refer to newer entrants into the country as "Pohmmys". Other suggestions hold that POM is a different acronym, such as "Prisoner of Mother England" or "Port of Melbourne". These etymologies are believed to be false, as the term "pommy" was coined long before acronyms were used in common parlance. Moreover, there is no record of prisoners in Australia ever wearing such uniforms.

The use of the word 'Pom' is contentious. Some British people living in Australasia find the term offensive and demeaning, others find it harmless and amusing. Attitudes to the use of the word have varied over the years, from the 1960s when slogans such as 'bash a pom a day' were heard on New Zealand radio, to today, when the word has become so entrenched that few Australians and New Zealanders see any reason to avoid using the word, some even justifying the use of the word as being 'endearing'. On September 27, 2006, the Australian cricketing authority Cricket Australia ruled that it was OK for cricket fans to refer to the English as 'Poms' after a wide-ranging review on potentially

A Pom, like a Limey, is an Englishman
As General Dwight D Eisenhower rightly said, calling someone a Limey was OK but calling him a !@#$% Limey was not ...

Answer 3

both derogatory slang for Englishmen. Limey came from the practice of the 19th century British Navy to carry citrus fruits (chiefly limes) to ward off scurvy. Pom (and it's adjective, pommy) comes from a contraction of pomegranite, which is what a Brit looks like when out in the Aussie sun too long. This last term is not conclusively defined, however.

Answer 4

Limey comes from the BRITISH navy's practice of giving it's sailors lime juice to prevent scurvy in the 1700's. American sailors thought this was pretty stupid. Someone is bound to say pommie (pom) is derived from the letters on all government tools/supplies in early Australian history Property Of Mother England POME. This is untrue in so many ways, least of all because England isn't a country, Britain is.

Answer 5

Limey Was at one time the cure for scurvy and was issued to sailors on long trips.

Pom/Pommy/Pome Prisoner of mother England. England is a country in its own right as are Scotland, Ireland and Wales Britain is the collective name for all Four Countries Five If you count Cornwall as a separate country

Answer 6

"Pom" is a slang term that Australians use for recent immigrants from England. See the link below for more information.

"Limey" is a slang term for an Englishman. It comes from the fact that English sailors ate lemons and limes (to combat scurvy).

Answer 7

Goggie had a pretty thorough explanation. Some of the others were on track as well. I just wanted to share my experience when I was stationed in Exmouth, Western Australia while I was there in the US Navy (1975-77). The "Aussies" were a tough but fun group in the "outback". They couldn't play a game of "footie" (Australian game-something between football and rugby) without someone going to the hospital with something broken. They played hard, worked hard, and celebrated harder. The original settlers (not Aboriginals) were prisoners sent from England to Australia. They were considered "POM's" or "prisoners of the motherland". What cracked me up was whenever English people visited our area the Australians called the Englanders "POM's". There were lots of ways to mess up with the different meanings to slang words we were used to. My face was red a couple of times working those differences out. One of my favorite expressions was when a friend wanted to "shout us to dinner". That meant they wanted to pay for our meal, not yelling at us while we ate.

Answer 8

I'd have called you a pom, but a Yank would call you a limey.
[ie Australia and the USA]

Answer 9

Limey comes from the days of sailing ships and scurvy. To combat scurvy the navy carried huge quantities of limes - hence the name limey.
Pom or Pommy said to be a near rhyme to pomegranate - a near rhyme to immigrant. Of Australian or New Zealand origin.

Answer 10

For the link between 'pom/pommie' and pomegranite, see an explanation in "World Wide Words" - http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pom1.htm