pommys

[hooper8678]

could anybody out there tell me why australians call us brits pommys...many thanks

[shaneystar]

Probably arises from the practise of eating pomegranates as a source of Vitamin C, to guard against scurvy on long sea voyages. English immigrants to Australia arrived on sailing ships. Likewise, the English were called Limeys because they ate limes. Another version derives from the fact that many immigrants to Oz were British convicts who had been transported there. They supposedly arrived with POHM (Prisoner of Her Majesty) printed on their clothes. Although plausible this sounds like something invented after the event.

[Chessman]

Most of the convicts that were sent to Australia, first went to Millbanks Prison onthe Embankment of the Thames before they were shopped to Oz, a sort of transit prison, POM, prisoner of Millbanks.

[Grunty]

I heard that a Pommy was asked by Australian Immigration whether he had a criminal record.  He replied "No.  I didn't know it was still required".

[Quizmonster]

Just to add a little to Shaney's fine answer...
Pom/pommie/pommy are not acronyms. Nobody knows for sure what the etymology of �pom/my/mie' is, but neither the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) nor the Australian National Dictionary (AND) even mentions the idea that it might have anything to do with prisoners or acronyms involving prisoners - eg from Prisoner of Mother England.
Here are a few key historical facts...a) 'Pommy' appeared nowhere in print before 1915 and b) �Pom' then appeared four years later. Both meant �a British soldier'.  c) If �pommy/pom' had anything whatever to do with prisoners or acronyms, why did theses words not appear on paper anywhere until 130 years after Australia became a penal colony and about three generations after the last convicts were sent to New South Wales?
Both the OED and the AND say the source is obscure, but suggest �pommy' might be associated with 'pomegranate', a concept first outlined in 1923, within a decade of the word's first appearance in print. The OED claims this to be (quote): "the most widely-accepted" etymology, which makes sense for two reasons...a)pomegranate very roughly rhymes with 'immigrant' and hence, "immygran(i)t/pommygranate" was possibly a jokey catcall first used by schoolboys - and b) the pomegranate is a bright red fruit resembling the sunburnt skin of newcomers to Australia.
Unfortunately, neither the OED nor AND is available free online, but if you click here you will find a reliable web-page on the matter. It was produced by the noted etymologist/lexicographer, Michael Quinion. He, too, dismisses the acronymaniacs' ideas, so it is pretty clear - despite there being no total proof - that �pomegranate' is the way to go...Forget the convicts!

[rock1873]

My wife,who is  an Aussie, thinks  it is to do with pomegranates.

Any way Pomms are not Brits they are English !!!

Seriously the Scots, Irish and Welsh are not called Whingeing Pomms !!!! Me being, a scot, thought the

Ashes was not a good result , but what fantastic cricket from both sides .

[Octavius]

I heard somewhere that it was based on the wearing of pom poms on the berets of British soldiers

[JimmyJones]

My dad is from Australia and my best friend is from Brighton, England. My dad calls him a "pom" or "pommy" all the time and my friend absolutely hates it! I asked him (my friend) one day what it meant and he told me that it was a small Australian rodent. Apparently it's a stereotype and reference to how the British look, more specifically to their teeth.

It has nothing to do with pomegranates or Prisoners Of Mother England"/"Prisoner Of Her Majesty's Service". This is what Aussies call British people so if somebody calls you this explain the meaning to them and tell them it's racist. Nobody like to be labeled as "racist", just like you don't want to be labeled after a rodent! Or like my frind always says..Where are you from? ...........Oh...just another country we colonized..