 | Categories | | Nooks and crannies |  | | Yesteryear | | | Semantic enigmas | | | The body beautiful | | | Red tape, white lies | | | Speculative science | | | This sceptred isle | | | Root of all evil | | | Ethical conundrums | | | This sporting life | | | Stage and screen | | | Birds and the bees | | | SEMANTIC ENIGMASMany nicknames bestowed on those from other countries seem to be related to foodstuffs popular in those counties, eg. 'Frogs' for French, 'Krauts' for Germans. I have also heard that French people often refer to Brits as 'Roast Beefs' and that Germans used to refer to Italians during the war as 'Macaronis'. Where then did terms such as 'Yank' for American, or 'Pommies', as Australians would call Englishmen, come from? Seth, Edinburgh UK - If I read correctly, "Pommies" was a reference to the rosy apple-like cheeks of the second-wave British settlers of Australia. Yonkers (sp?) was or is a Dutch-named district of New York that became corrupted to "Yankees". I don't know why that should become appellant to the whole country, but in any case they don't appreciate the term in the southern states. By the way, you forgot "limey" -- US slang for the British who drank lime juice to avoid scurvy on the long Atlantic sailing voyage.
Leo Hickey, Barking UK - I remember some years ago Alan Whicker saying that Poms or Pommies was short for pomegranate, the pulp of which being the colour that a new arrival went in the sun.
Jonathan, Lancaster UK - The modern appelation of Brits in France these days is 'crevettes', literally, 'shrimp', referring to the color of rosy cheeks.
Daniel Morgan, Boston US - There is an alternative explanation regarding 'Pommie', namely that it comes from an expression said to be used by Maoris in the face of British immigrants complaining about conditions in New Zealand. The expression was 'Pome ,haere te Wikatoria' ('Moaner, go back to (Queen) Victoria'). How it might have got to Australia, however, is unclear. Incidentally, given that these epithets tend to describe the real or imagined typical characteristics of a nation, the common description of the British by the French nowadays is 'Les Fuckoffs'.
N Stapley, Wrexham Wales - Actually, we call the French 'Frogs' not because its one of their foodstuffs, but because of that old canard, class. In pre-Revolution France, the gate-pillars at the head of the driveways to the aristocratic homes were often topped with statues of toads decorated with gold-leaf(possibly the inspiration for Toad of Toad Hall.) Therefore, they were often referred to as 'les crapaux'. Come the Revolution, the Aristocracy fled and made their way to England, where they disparagingly called the revolutionaries 'les grenouilles' - the Frogs. Not surprisingly, the term soon swept England as a popular euphemism for the French in general.
Nick, London England Add your answer  |
