Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. an Englishman; also attrib.

1918		R.H. Knyvett ‘Over There’ with the Australians 240: There was a little nurse, mostly on night duty, who was dubbed ‘Choom,’ for she came from Yorkshire and had a rich brogue.
1919		Sun. Times (Perth) 9 Mar. 7/3: Tommies [the digger] calls chooms.
1919		W.H. Downing Digger Dialects 16: choom — An English soldier.
1923		Truth (Wellington) 29 Dec. 12/4: Dad: You’d better turn out that nag of yours. He’s got a touch of the greasy heel. Choom: Greasy ’eel! Why, ’e might er slipped and broke me blinkin’ neck!
1926		J. Doone Timely Tips For New Australians 9: Over the years, [pommy] has taken the place of the more understandable appellation, ‘choom’.
1931		Mail (Adelaide) 30 May 9/5: A British soldier was hailed as a ‘choom’ by Australians.
1934		Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld) 1 Mar. 10/6: Choom seated himself and put away more bread and cocky’s delight.
1946		Sun (Sydney) 29 Sept. 15/1: When Aussie kicked off the Choom Government was too lousy to mint enough coins for themselves let alone send a boatload out for the cons to play swy with.
1959		G. Slatter Gun in My Hand 220: The Chooms, the Pongos. Blokes sling off at them.
1967		‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xxxiii 4/3: choom: An Englishman.
1971		F.J. Hardy Outcasts of Foolgarah (1975) 21: He’s a choom as well, born in bloody Yorkshire.
1977		(con. 1941) R. Beilby Gunner 53: To discourage any such abscondings the Chooms had a corvette anchored alongside.
1986		C. Bowles G’DAY 38: Not a hcoom, izzy? [...] No, no. E’s dinky-di.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 27/2: choom British person; ‘chum’ pronounced in Northern English accent.
1996		J. Byrell Lairs, Urgers & Coat-Tuggers 181: [T]hey bought the mighty sire Messenger from the complacent Chooms and had him shipped to New York.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].

2. a term of address to an Englishman.

1918		Kia Ora Coo-ee No. 2 15 Apr. 20: Tom and I spurred our nags, and overtook the wagon. ‘Hulloa! Choom, what’s wrong?’ asked the driver, pulling up.
1923		Truth (Wellington) 21 Apr. 6/6: Things ain’t too good in the Old Dart, choom. We was out of work an’ wantin’ a feed.
1944		L. Glassop We Were the Rats 104: ‘You go and see, choom,’ said the Tommy.
1945		J. Henderson Gunner Inglorious (1974) 81: The bleedin’ ‘Rose of Tralee’, choom.
1962		S. Gore Down the Golden Mile 17: ‘How you goin’, Choom?’ he said cheerfully.
1971		F.J. Hardy Outcasts of Foolgarah (1975) 7: They’d know that good things come in glass, wouldn’t they, choom.