User:Ljlego/A British Guy Saying "Pish-Posh"

It is widely known that British people talk funny, as evidenced by such widespread slang terms as "ponce," "nit," "tosser," "guv'na," "pissed as a fart," and "tea-towel holder" (which, believe it or not, does not mean what one would expect it to). However, by far the most commonly sterotyped British slang phrase is "pish-posh." Many a failed British accent have been affected simply to utter these seminal words. But what do they mean? Of what accord are they spoken? Why can't British people use the English language that they invented properly? Why is there such suffering in the world? Surprisingly, all of these questions and more can be answered by the simple act of a British guy saying "pish-posh."

The Meaning of "Pish-Posh"

I say!

The American Heritage Dictionary defines pish-posh as "No results found for pish-posh. Did you mean mishpocha?" Other venerable mainstays include Urban Dictionary, which defines it as "blowing off someone's statement", Bob's Dictionary of Words: "stupid, like a idiot", and Yahoo! Answers: "dont cut urself its bad." Whichever definition is chosen as the comprehensive and fully correct one, however, the general idea remains the same: that pish-posh means that the person to whom it is addressed is a complete and utter retard who fails at all of life's simplest tasks.

What makes this definition so interesting is its individual parts. Let us explore for a moment the definitions of "pish" and "posh" separately. Pish is a word of uncertain origin, likely Vulgar Latin mixed with Gaelic in some sort of bizarre anomaly migration probably instigated by climate change. Other linguists, primarily the ones who have trouble eating breakfast cereal without help from their mothers, have put forth the theory that it is actually a degradation (by way of the dirty Scottish accent) of another slang term "piss" meaning drunk. Either way, pish currently is defined as such: "an imitated bird call;" that is, false.

Posh, on the other hand, is a much easier word to find the etymology for. The term began in 1994, when Victoria Beckham took the name "Posh Spice" as her alias for the seminal pop group Spice Girls. Her standoffish attitude and pretentious demeanor led to the word "posh" taking on the meaning "smart", since she was acting in a way similar to people of superior intelligence to laypeople.

Thus, pish-posh literally means "false(ly) smart."

References

"Posh" was invented by a Spice Girl? So recently? Someone should tell (for one example) Grandpa Potts, from "Chitty-Chitty Bang-Band."