Pommy or Pom The terms Pommy, Pommie and Pom, in Australia,...

Pommy or Pom

The terms Pommy, Pommie and Pom, in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand usually denotes an English person (or, less commonly, people from other parts of the UK).^[6] The Oxford Dictionary defines their use as "often derogatory"^[7] but after complaints to the Australian Advertising Standards Board regarding five advertisements poking fun at "Poms", the board ruled in 2006 that these words are inoffensive, in part because they are "largely used in playful or affectionate terms".^[8] The New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority made a similar ruling in 2010.^[9] Despite these rulings, the terms are considered offensive and derogatory by many British, regardless of context.
There are several folk etymologies for "Pommy" or "Pom". The best-documented of these is that "Pommy" originated as a contraction of "pomegranate".^[10][11] According to this explanation, "pomegranate" was Australian rhyming slang for "immigrant" ("Jimmy Grant").^[12] Usage of "pomegranate" for English people may have been strengthened by a belief in Australia that sunburn occurred more frequently among English immigrants, turning those with fair skin the colour of pomegranates.^[13] Another explanation – now generally considered to be a false etymology – was that "Pom" or "Pommy" were derived from an acronym such as POM ("Prisoner of Millbank"), POME ("Prisoner of Mother England") or POHMS ("Prisoner Of Her Majesty's Service").^[14] However, there is no evidence that such terms, or their acronyms, were used in Australia when "Pom" and "Pommy" entered use there.