Trivia answer

Dictionary dot com has the definition of “Posh” as “Smart and fashionable”.

The original acronym is “Port Out Starboard Home” because the state rooms on the Port (left) side of a ship were sunny leaving from England to America and the state rooms on the Starboard (right) side of a ship were sunny on the route home from the States.  Hence, the best rooms were the ones where the sun was shining on the way out of England (port out) and the sun was shining on the way home to England (starboard home) and they charged more for the “POSH” accommodations.  Because these rooms were all on the south side of the ship and the route was entirely north of the equator, you would be greeted each day with a marvelous sunrise, spend the day doing fancy schmancy things top side, then be sent to bed each day with a gorgeous sunset.  The daily temperature in the room (and this holds true today) would be of little concern because during a cruise there is plenty to do elsewhere.  Plus these voyages were generally 1 way trips with each leg—to and from destination—booked separately rather than our out and back Carnival cruises today so you wouldn’t necessarily have the same room on each leg of the trip.

[If you think about it from the standpoint of an English sailing company in the heyday of English world dominance—the 1800 and early 1900s before PanAm put boats out of business—and not an American sailing company (since America didn’t rule the world yet), it makes a lot of sense because the rooms would be on the wrong side from an American point of view (starboard out, port home—home being New York you filthy Yankee Imperialist pigs!).]

 

Back to Dictionary dot com…  For word history it says:

Word History: “Oh yes, Mater, we had a posh time of it down there.” So in Punch for September 25, 1918, do we find the first recorded instance posh, meaning “smart and fashionable.” A popular theory holds that it is derived from the initials of “Port Out, Starboard Home,” the cooler, and thus more expensive, side of ships traveling between England and India in the mid-19th century. The acronym POSH was supposedly stamped on the tickets of first-class passengers traveling on that side of ships owned by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. No known evidence supports this theory, however. Another word posh was 19th- and early 20th-century British slang for “money,” specifically “a halfpenny, cash of small value.” This word is borrowed from the Romany word påh, “half,” which was used in combinations such as påhera, “halfpenny.” Posh, also meaning “a dandy,” is recorded in two dictionaries of slang, published in 1890 and 1902, although this particular posh may be still another word. This word or these words are, however, much more likely to be the source of posh than “Port Out, Starboard Home,” although the latter source certainly has caught the public's etymological fancy.

 

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It says “no known evidence supports the theory”… My guess is it’s because they have the route wrong.  Leaving England and heading to India a ship travels south from England, past the Equator, around South Africa, then turns north back to India.  No one side of the ship is facing the sun during this voyage, except the top.  In the tropical heat all rooms would be miserable—plus it’s a stupid long trip.  Additionally, if there were a “cooler” side of the ship it would be downright freezing at night without the heat of the sun to warm it during the day and dank and dark after a few days at sea—albeit in relative comfort of the time.  The only voyage where this is a sensibly upgradeable accommodation is the transatlantic voyage.  In fact, if you can afford it why wouldn’t you upgrade?  From the fancy accommodations it’s then very, very easy to ascribe the term to “a dandy” who would naturally be able to afford such arrangements and from there a mocking, derisive term… much like “Congressman” today.  It’s much less likely that a term meaning “cash of small value” would come to mean something synonymous with opulent accommodations.  Seriously, is a “posh limousine” something of little value?  I think not.

 

Granted, there is no conclusive evidence that I’m right and the internet is wrong; nor can I remember my original source—that’s what makes it trivia, I guess.  It could simply be a convenient acronym today to assign to a term that fits the circumstantial evidence in retrospect only, but the folks back then weren’t smart enough to figure it out.  Reviews of records of shipping companies show no official usage of the term “POSH” on voyages to India, but I found nothing disputing or confirming the relation to transatlantic cruises.  In fact, a quick call to Carnival with regards to their just passed repositioning (one way) cruise from the US to Rome had south facing state rooms costing the same as north facing state rooms.  But even that isn’t necessarily a shock.  Repo cruises are cut rate one way tickets ($1499 for a 16 day cruise from the US to Rome; it’s coming back in November if you’re interested) and sometimes the best deal in vacations if you can grab one.  They’re basically moving the ship to a new port whether people are on it or not and it was probably less than half full anyway.  Besides, they know more about putting bodies on their ships than I do.

My hunch is that the shipping companies had very little to do with it, just like the rolling fajita/burrito vendors don’t refer to themselves as the “Roach Coach”, but the guys at the construction site sure as hell do; and when you go to Jack in the Box and ask to “Jack Size” a meal, they know exactly what you mean even though “Jack Size” is found nowhere on their marketing material.