why do the aussie`s call the english fans "poms"?
824392
Steve T is right - it means Propertyof his/her majesty. But it was the name given to the prisoners we deported to Australia so in all truth they're the Poms!
586036
The number in order that they have represented england. The australians have the same.
1041300
The name "Pom" is said to derive from Australia's origins as a convict colony. Each unfortunate transported down under from Britain for his or her (mostly) petty crime was said to be a "Prisoner of Her Majesty" or POHM, later simplified to POM.  \n\nHowever, there is an alternative explanation as  Pom was around a few years before Word War II.  In fact, we first come across it in print during World War I, in 1914, as a derogatory term for an immigrant to Australia from England.  It is a quotation from D.H. Lawrence's Kangaroo in 1923 that gives us the most popularly accepted etymology of this word: "Pommy is supposed to be short for pomegranate. Pomegranate, pronounced invariably 'pommygranate', is a near enough rhyme to immigrant, in a naturally rhyming country. Furthermore, immigrants are known in their first months, before their blood ‘thins down’, by their round and ruddy cheeks. So we are told."  Slang lexicographer Eric Partridge also favors the pomegranate derivation, and he gives a slightly more detailed explanation by quoting from H.J. Rumsey's The Pommies (1920): "Colonial boys and girls, ready to find a nickname, were fond of rhyming Immigrant, Jimmy-grant, Pommegrant, and called it to the new chum children.  The name stuck and became abbreviated to pommy later on."  Partridge also believes that the word was being used as far back as the end of the 19th century.  It is often the case with slang that it is spoken for several years before it is put into writing. Anyhow, the OED is careful to note that there is no good evidence supporting the pomegranate derivation.
1129322
AUSSIES.\n\nTHEY  ARE ON SWEET REVENGE.
1110583
Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi.
610682
What is everyone talking about?!  \n\nChelsea fan's are still English!... they are choked.  Second of all Ferreira is not happy he injuryed someone.  A real footballer would want to beat England, but not Rooney-less, They would want to take out England at their best ie: with Rooney.  \n\nI have never seen such stupid answers holy crap!
349273
About 40 years ago the australians were desperate to encourage immigration (my how things change), so they advertised a deal whereby people from the UK could travel to Australia for £10, with the rest being subsidised by the Australian government on condition that they stayed for a minimum of two years.  This was a very popular option for many, and they were dubbed ten pound poms by the australian public.  Poms being short for pommy, the australian term for people from britain.  Though the etymology of pommy is unclear it may be that it comes from pomegranate which was the slang rhyming term for immigrant but it seems the jury is still out.\n\nSo Long.
1034489
as long as they keep the english holligans away from the WC, then the english fans shouldn't pick up trouble, \n\nas usual, its a selected few that make all the trouble
413713
Obviously the Aussies. Look at the Thorpedo and the kangaroos. And foe the other guy, England is a bad swimming country. Stick to soccer.
756574
Your obviously a Pakistan fan but the truth is that when Australia are on song and playing as a unit, no team in world cricket can hold a candle to them (their record speaks for itself). I'm, of course, talking about proper cricket (ie test) not the hit and giggle form (good for a laugh and filling coffers). No team has been so full of record crushers in the history of cricket (even the "Invincibles" and the "Windies" of the eighties). England caught Oz on a "sticky wicket" (ie injuries - poor form - less than ideal preparation). Note: Pakistan will never be a top performer in test cricket until they learn to play as a unit, as in the Javed days....and until they start producing world class domestic wickets.
1089153
WELL SAID !!  As someone who has recently posted a couple of questions myself taunting england supporters.I totally agree,this is supposed to be a bit of banter,but what happened today has totally sickened me.....my best mate at work is a cockney ,so i am not anti-english,but it does not stop us ripping the pish out of each other over our teams.As i said a bit of banter.\nOn behalf of all true SCOTS and not these MORONS i send my deepest apologies to both families.
544033
The Aussies!!!\nOi! Oi! Oi!
1086145
Superb answer voetbal, I couldn't have said it better myself.\n\nBeing from the US, I'm constantly being berated by the "jocks" in this country for being a football fan.  Yeah thats right, a football fan.  The word "soccer" makes me cringe.
1045268
Hooligans are an embarassment but you're right, England fans do have a bad rep but you can't tar everyone with the same brush can you?!
801552
USA fans are more passionate because there is a greater variety of sports. Here in England there are really only soccer being a popular sport where as in USA, you have basketball, baseball, american football, hockey etc.
583812
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!\nOi! Oi! Oi!
1102618
The term Pommy for a British person is commonly used in Australian English and New Zealand English, and is often shortened to Pom. The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies.\n\nOne theory is that, as the majority of early immigrants to Australia were British, it is rhyming slang for "immigrant" from a contraction of the word "pomegranate", or possibly more directly related to the appearance of the fruit, as it bears a more than passing resemblance to the typical pale complexioned Briton's skin after his or her first few days living under the hot Australian sun.\n\nAnother theory is that POM is a shortened acronym of Prisoner of His/Her Majesty (POHM). As many of Australian's first settlers were convicts, sentenced to transportation, this theory holds that upon arrival in the country they would be given a uniform with POHM emblazoned on the back, and that convicts with an extended stay on Australian soil would no longer have to wear the shirt and would often refer to newer entrants into the country as "Pohmmys". Other suggestions hold that POM is a different acronym, such as "Prisoner of Mother England" or "Port of Melbourne". These etymologies are believed to be false, as the term "pommy" was coined long before acronyms were used in common parlance. Moreover, there is no record of prisoners in Australia ever wearing such uniforms.\n\nAnother etymology suggests it is short for "pompous" [citation needed], a quality often attributed by Australians to the British.[citation needed]\n\nThe use of the word 'Pom' is contentious. Many British people living in Australasia find the term offensive and demeaning. Attitudes to the use of the word have varied over the years, from the 1960s when slogans such as 'bash a pom a day' were heard on New Zealand radio, to today, when the word has become so entrenched that few Australians and New Zealanders see any reason to avoid using the word.