Posh Meaning

/pɑʃ/
B2

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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adjAssociated with the upper classes.

adjStylish; elegant; exclusive; luxurious; expensive.

He's a posh toff.
He lives in a posh apartment near Central Park.
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hotel near the beach was extremely ____ with gold taps and marble floors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The guests arrived in expensive cars and wore ____ outfits that clearly cost a small fortune.

Unknown. Most likely derived from Romani posh (“half”), either because posh-kooroona (“half a crown”) (originally a substantial sum of money) was used metaphorically for anything pricey or upper-class, or because posh-houri (“half-penny”) came to refer to money generally. A period slang dictionary defines "posh" as a term used by thieves for "money : generic, but specifically, a halfpenny or other small coin". An example is given from James Payn's The Eavesdropper (1888): "They used such funny terms: 'brads,' and 'dibbs,' and 'mopusses,' and 'posh' ... at last it was borne in upon me that they were talking about money." Evidence exists for a slang sense from the 1890s meaning dandy, which is quite possibly related. A popular folk etymology holds that the term is an acronym for "port out, starboard home", describing the cooler, north-facing cabins taken by the most aristocratic or rich passengers travelling from Britain to India and back. However, there is no evidence for this claim. It could also possibly be a clipping of polished. See also the articles mentioned in the References section below for additional discussion.

"In antenatal clinic, an extremely posh patient attends for a routine appointment. All is well with her extremely posh fetus. Her extremely posh eight-year-old asks her a question about the economy (!), and before she answers, she asks her extremely posh five-year-old, ‘Do you know what the economy is, darling?’ ’Yes, Mummy. It’s the part of the plane that’s terrible.’" — 2017, Adam Kay, This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor:
"“Miss Shaw’s got a new frock,” said Harriet. ”So she has! How posh of her! […]”" — 1935, Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night:
"Jan Petter Vala is serving part of a 10-year murder sentence on a posh island in southern Norway." — 2012 May 24, John D. Sutter, “Welcome to the world’s nicest prison”, in CNN:
"The czar! Posh! I slap my fingers--I snap my fingers at him." — 1890, Rudyard Kipling, The Man Who Was:
"There has been quite a posh of rain." — 1942, Thoroton Society, Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The hotel near the beach was extremely ____ with gold taps and marble floors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The guests arrived in expensive cars and wore ____ outfits that clearly cost a small fortune.

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