"Posh!" is an up tempo song and musical number from the popular 1968

Albert R. Broccoli Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...

motion picture, ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

''. It is written by the songwriting team of

Sherman & Sherman The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard M. Sherman (born June 12, 1928). Together they received various accolades in ...

. It makes reference to the myth that the word "

posh Posh is an informal adjective for "upper class". It may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Posh'' (album), a 1980 album by Patrice Rushen *" Posh!", a 1968 song from the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' * ''Posh'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 Philip ...

" is an acronym for "

Port Out, Starboard Home A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

". In the film it is sung when "Grandpa Potts" (played by

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...

) is being carried away in his outhouse. He sees the situation as serendipitous until he finally meets his kidnapper,

Baron Bomburst Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

in Vulgaria.

Use in stage musical

The song is also featured prominently in the 2002 and 2005

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

versions of the film. In the stage musical versions, Grandpa sings the song to the children in the family dining room and not while being kidnapped. An extra verse was also added to the beginning of the stage version, to tell the story of when Grandpa sailed out from Liverpool.Archived a
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The song is reprised a few times and is used as "Grandpa's"

leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...

References

{{Reflist * Sherman, Robert B. '' Walt's Time: from before to beyond'', Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998. 1968 songs Songs from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Songs written by the Sherman Brothers