What is Poon Town?
1.
Poon-Toun is a small town in Southern Vietnam, it has a population of 18,648 according to the 2000 Census. It is usually referred to as "Poon Town" in English speaking countries, particularly the United States of America.
During the Vietnam War, Poon-Toun was the site of a US military base. "Going to Poon Town", a corruption of the town's original name, became a colloquialism referring to being drafted.
At the start of the Vietnam war, many of the young men who were drafted from the United States of America and sent to Poon-Toun after their basic training, didn't realise what they were letting themselves in for. And once they had arrived, there was no way out (apart from in a body bag or upon becoming wounded in combat) until their 1 year tour of duty was completed. Unknowingly, the soldiers had been given a one way ticket to a gritty existence and an uncertain fate: "They had been taken to Poon Town".
'Poon Town' gradually evolved into a slang term which was used to describe an uncomfortable and diffcult predicament a person finds themselves in which they had not foreseen or expected. Often, the situation will be the direct opposite to the one previously envisioned.
Not to be confused with
"Private Johnson was proud to fight for his country and was gung-ho for some combat. Six weeks after arriving in Poon Town, Johnson lost his legs after stepping on a mine during a long-range patrol mission."
"Tony Blair was confident he was popular with the British public, but found himself in Poon Town when it emerged that only 15% backed him in the popularity poll."
"Colin was showing off down the pub and thought he looked cool, but by doing this, he only succeeded in buying himself a one way ticket to Poon Town when he got his head kicked in."
"Dave bet all his savings on a horse race. He said he couldn't lose, it was a dead cert. He got taken to Poon Town when the results came out and the horse lost."
See
