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From: jsq@ut-sally.UUCP (John Quarterman)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: british
Message-ID: <1@ut-sally.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 3-Jun-84 19:06:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: ut-sally.1
Posted: Sun Jun  3 19:06:22 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 5-Jun-84 20:00:16 EDT
References: <134@mhuxj.UUCP> <482@asgb.UUCP>
Organization: U. Texas CS Dept., Austin, Texas
Lines: 22

According to the Australians I originally heard the term from, pommie
is derived from P.O.M.E, which was written on the shirts of new
prisoners from Britain, and meant Prisoner of Mother England.  The new
arrivals were both prisoners and British.  The people already there
were mostly not prisoners and didn't want to be known as English or
British.  It's no wonder that Australians use pome as a derogatory
term for the British.

Actually, the way I most often heard it used was "pommie bastard."
There is also "plastic pome," which refers to New Zealanders, who
are supposed (by some Australians) to be more British than the British,
or at least to want to be.

Pome is pronounced like half of pompom or the French word pomme.  It
appears to be the same sort of word as kraut, frog, yank, canuck, etc.,
i.e., kind of a familiar and (usually) friendly insult that is intended
to show the nationality referred to is no better than the speaker's.
Of course the specific intent (as well as the effect) depends on the
circumstances and the people involved.
-- 
John Quarterman, CS Dept., University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712 USA
jsq@ut-sally.ARPA, jsq@ut-sally.UUCP, {ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!jsq