The word posh seems to be used mainly in the UK. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it can mean:
- elegant or stylishly luxurious, as in “a posh hotel”
- typical of or belonging to the upper class, as in “a posh accent”
- in an upper-class way, as in “She talks posh”
- the quality of being elegant, stylish, or upper class, as in “We bought a colour TV, which seemed the height of posh”
To posh(en) up means “to smarten someone or something up”, as in “we’ll be getting all poshed up for the summer ball”.
If you use posh(en) up, how do you use it in the past? Poshed up or poshened up?
Posh first appeared in writing in 1914, and maybe comes from the slang word posh (a dandy). The folk etymology is that posh come from the initials of port out starboard home, which refers to the cabins on ships between England and India that were out of the hot sun. There is no evidence for this, but it makes a good story [source].
According to the Urban Dictionary, posh can mean:
- very classy or sophisticated
- rich, aristocratic, wealthy, loaded, fancy, toff, toffee nosed, upper crust, well off, or well to do
- snobby, snooty, nose in the air
Apparently posh derives from an old Romany slang word for pennies – if you have a lot of pennies, then you are well to do, rich, etc. and the word is often used in light hearted derision.
For someone like me who grew up in northern England, talking posh means talking with a southern English accent, particularly using RP (Received Pronunciation). For example, pronouncing bath as /bɑːθ/ rather than /baθ/. Calling someone a posh southerner or saying that they talk posh can be used as an insult by northerners.
Posh (Spice) is also the nickname of Victoria Beckham, former member of the Spice Girls.
In Welsh English “there’s posh!” is an exclamation often used in a sarcastic, mocking way. For example, “We had salmon for dinner last night – There’s posh!” It comes from the Welsh phrase “dyna grand!”.
Are there similar words in other varieties of English, and in other languages?
‘There’s posh’ or more likely ‘here’s posh for you’ is used in the North of England as well, so it may not be a welsh calque after all.
I’d say ‘poshened up’ in the past – though I could say ‘poshed up’ as well.
Of course it might just be a short form of ‘polished’.
I think it was falling out of use in the U.S. until Posh Spice came along.
It is very hard to find good translations of this word in French or Spanish. Probably because it’s so rooted in the UK’s unique class system. It is just such a common construct posh-not posh- a real “way of seeing”.