Polari - How Bona to Varda Your Dolly Old Eek

 

Strictly speaking Polari is not a language but more of a linguistic cipher or code as it replaces words rather than has its own set of grammar rules. But we're not interested in pedantry here and for all intents and purposes it is the language of the gay subculture.

     It is said to have its roots in the eighteenth century and was used by gay men as a means of communicating with each other to disguise their homosexuality from anyone overhearing, especially undercover policemen. It reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s but the code was revealed to the wider world during the regular Julian And Sandy sketches in the radio programme 'Round The Horne'. But perhaps the main reason for its decline in the 1960s was the fact that homosexual activity was decriminalised in 1967 and so a secret language was no longer needed.

     Polari (also Parlare, Parlary, Palare, Palarie, Palari,) is mainly a spoken language and when written down leads to the several variations in spelling. It has taken words from many sources, Italian, Romany, rhyming slang and backslang, among several others. The language was mainly influenced by Parlyaree, the language spoken by Carny folk in fairgrounds but this was never a gay language.

     Polari is now only spoken by a few old queens, but many of the terms have entered standard English, words such as naff, bevvie, bijou, camp, mincing and drag. There is also an increased interest in Polari by a new batch of gays, me included. It is no longer seen as a divisive language but our language and there has been a resurgence of some terms in recent years. Screeve for one, a website for gay writing, but also Bona Togs (a clothes shop in Jersey) and both Morrissey, the singer/songwriter and Will Self, the author have used Polari in their lyrics/writing.

     Sit back, zhoosh yer riah, put up yer lallies and varda the polari below. You'll be fluent in no time.

Polari - Glossary Of Terms

Sit back, zhoosh yer riah, put up yer lallies and varda the polari. You'll be fluent in no time.

Word

Definition

   

AC/DC

a couple

ajax

nearby (from adjacent?)

alamo

hot for you/him

aunt nell

listen, hear

aunt nells

ears

aunt nelly fakes

earrings

aunt nell danglers

earrings

bagadga

baggage, male genitals

barkey

sailor

barney

a fight

basket

the bulge of male genitals through clothes

batts

shoes

bevvy

drink

bevvy omee

drunkard

bibi

bisexual

bimbo

dupe

bitch

effeminate or passive gay man

bijou

small/little (means "jewel" in French)

blag

pick up

blue

code word for "homosexual"

bod

body

bodega

grocery store

bold

daring

bona

good - bona nochy - goodnight (from Italian - buona notte)

bonaroo

wonderful, excellent

bungery

pub

butch

masculine; masculine lesbian

buvare

a drink (from Italian - bere or old-fashioned Italian - bevere or Lingua Franca bevire)

cackle

talk/gossip

camisa

shirt

camp

effeminate (possibly from Italian campare "exaggerate, make stand out")

capello/capella

hat (from Italian - cappello)

carsey

toilet, also spelt khazi

carts/cartso

penis (from Italian - cazzo)

cats

trousers

charper

to search (from Italian - chiappare - to catch)

charpering omi

policeman

charver

to shag/a shag (sexual intercourse) (from Italian - chiavare)

chicken

young boy

clobber

clothes

cod

naff, vile

cottage

public toilet (particularly with reference to cottaging)

cottaging

having or looking for sex in a cottage

cove

friend

crimper

hairdresser

cull

testicle

dally

sweet, kind. Possibly an alternate pronunciation of dolly.

dilly boy

a male prostitute

dinarly

money (thought to be derived from "Dinari")

dish

butt(ocks)

dolly

pretty, nice, pleasant

dona

woman (perhaps from Italian donna or Lingua Franca dona)

dorcas

term of endearment, 'one who cares'. The Dorcas Society was a ladies' church association of the nineteenth century, which made clothes for the poor.

drag

clothes, esp. women's clothes (prob from Romani - indraka - skirt)

doss

bed

ecaf

face (backslang)

eek

face (abbreviation of ecaf)

ends

hair

esong

nose (backslang)

fantabulosa

fabulous/wonderful

feele/freely/filly

child/young

fogle

handkerchief

fruit

queen

funt

pound

gelt

money (Yiddish)

handbag

money

hoofer

dancer

HP (homy polone)

effeminate gay man

jarry

food, also mangarie (from Italian mangiare or Lingua Franca mangiaria)

jogger

play, entertain

joggering omee

street musician

jubes

breasts

kaffies

trousers

khazi

toilet, also spelt carsey

lacoddy

body

lallies (lylies)

legs

lallie tappers

feet

latty/lattie

room, house or flat

lills

hands

lilly

police (Lilly Law)

lyles

legs (prob. from "Lisle stockings")

lucoddy

body

luppers

fingers (Yiddish - lapa - paw)

mangarie

food, also jarry (from Italian mangiare or Lingua Franca mangiaria)

martinis

hands

measures

money

meese

plain, ugly (from Yiddish "meeiskeit, in turn from Hebrew מָאוּס repulsive, loathsome, despicable, abominable)

meshigener

nutty, crazy, mental (from Yiddish, in turn from Hebrew מְשֻׁגָּע crazy)

metzas

money (Italian -mezzi "means, wherewithal")

mince

walk (affectedly)

naff

awful, dull, hetero

nanti

not, no, none (Italian - niente)

national handbag

dole, welfare, government financial assistance

nochy

night

nishta

nothing, no (from Yiddish נישטא - "there isn't")

ogle

look, admire

ogles

eyes

oglefakes

glasses

omi

man (from Romance)

omi-palone

effeminate man, or homosexual

onk

nose (cf "conk")

orbs

eyes

palare pipe

telephone ("talk pipe")

palliass

back

park, parker

give

plate

feet; to fellate

palone

woman (Italian paglione - "straw mattress", [viz. old Cant "hay-bag" = woman])

palone-omi

lesbian

pogy

(a) little

pots

teeth

proxy-ook

autobiographical book that is especially revealing about people other than the main subject

remould

sex change

riah/riha

hair (backslang)

riah zhoosher

hairdresser

scarper

to run off (from Italian scappare, to escape or run away or from rhyming slang Scapa Flow, to go)

schlumph

drink

schmutter

clothes (maybe from Yiddish "schmatte" - rag)

scotch

leg (scotch egg=leg)

screech

mouth, speak

screeve

write

sharpy

policeman (from - charpering omi)

sharpy polone

policewoman

shush

steal (from client)

shush bag

hold-all

shyker/shyckle

wig (mutation of the Yiddish sheitel)

slap

makeup

so

homosexual (e.g. "Is he 'so'?")

stimps

legs

stimpcovers

stockings, hosiery

strides

trousers

strillers

piano

switch

wig

thews

thighs

tober

road

todd (Sloanne)

alone

tootsie trade

sex between two passive homosexuals (as in: 'I don't do tootsie trade')

trade

sex, sex-partner, potential sex-partner

troll

to walk about (esp. looking for trade)

varda/vada/varder

to see (from Italian - dialect vardare = guardare - look at) vardered - vardering

vera (lynn)

gin

vogue

cigarette (from Lingua Franca - fogus - "fire, smoke")

vogueress

woman smoker

willets

breasts

yews

(from French "yeux") eyes

zhoosh

style hair, tart up, mince (Romani - "zhouzho" - clean, neat)  zhoosh our riah - style our hair

zhooshy

showy