Polari
A mixture of the slang
of the criminal, the underworld, of gypsies,
travellers, the theatre and circus, further corrupted
by the mariners who transported it around the world,
it was commonly used by homosexuals when to be such
was to be persecuted, and to have homosexual sex was a
criminal offence. Polari meant that homosexuals
could converse meaningfully in the cafés, bars, clubs,
and public places they frequented without the "naff
omnies" (bad men = straight men) understanding.
It was more a spoken, rather than a written, language
which, because of its many variations, relied heavily
on body language, on flamboyant gestures, and on
facial expression. On Camp! Today, as a
language it is almost extinct. Some words have
survived into today's gay culture, e.g. bona, chicken,
mince, naff, trade, and a few others have moved into
common usage, e.g. khazi, bevvy, slap, balonie,
barney, and scarper. Most are destined to be lost
forever. Below is a by no means complete list of
some of the more common words that one might have
encountered in those underground days, with a few of
the variations.
|
|
ajax
balonie
barney
basket
battyfang
batts
bevie/bevvy
bijou
billingsgate
bod
bold
bolus
bona
bona nochy/noche
booth
butch
cackle
camp/kamp
capello
carts/cartso
carsey
chavies
chicken
charper
charpering omni
church times
clobber
cod
corybungus
cottage
cottaging
cove
crimper
curtain
diddle/diddley
dinarly/dinero
dish
dizzy
dolly
do the rights
drag
ecaf
eek
ends
esong
fakements
fantabulosa/fabulosa
farting crackers
feele
flatties
fruit
fungus
gaffer
gelt
gillie
glossies
handbag
hoofer
jarry
kaffies
khazi
lallies/lalls
lally covers
latty/lattie
lills
lilly/lilly law
luppers
mangarie
measures
meese
meshigener
metzas
mince
mish
mush
moey
naff
nanti/nanty
nanty dinarly
national handbag
nishta
oglefakes
ogles
omie/omni
omie/omni-palonie
onk
orbs
palare pipe
palliass
park
parkering ninty
peroney
plate
polari
polone
pots
rattling cove
riah/riha
riah shusher
scarper
scotch
sharpy
shush
shush bag
shyker/shyckle
slanging-tree
slap
stampers/stompers
strillers
thews
trade
troll
vada/varda
willets
yews
------------
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 |
adjacent, nearby, next to (you)
rubbish (spoken)
row, fight
crutch, genital bulge packet
hit and bite, fight
shoes
pub/drink (esp. alcohol)
small, tiny
bad language, (derogatory: woman)
body
daring, risky, brazen
chemist
good
goodnight
room (esp. a room for sex)
masculine
gossip
effeminate/known as male prostitute
hat
penis
lavatory
children (norm. boys)
young boy
search
policeman
any (homo)sexual publication
clothes
disgusting
arse
public lavatory
looking for sex in a cottage
friend, mate
hairdresser
foreskin
gin
money, cash
attractive male, buttocks
scatterbrained
pretty, pleasant
get revenge
clothes (usually female)
face (backslang)
face (corruption of backslang)
hair
nose
jewellery
wonderful, marvellous
trousers/slacks
child (norm. girl)
audience (norm. men), onlookers
queen, homosexual
old man, beard
showman
money
audience (norm. women), onlookers
magazines
money
dancer
food
trousers, slacks
lavatory
legs
trousers/slacks
room, house, flat
hands
police
fingers
food
money, wages
plain, unattractive, spotty
mental, mad
money
walk (affectedly) to chew a toffee
shirt
mouth, (affectionately: mate, chum)
mouth
not nice, bad (not available for f*cking)
not, no, never
penniless, no money
national assistance (equiv. social security)
nothing, no, never
spectacles
eyes, looks at, stares
man
homosexual, effeminate man
nose
eyes
telephone
back (body)
give, sit down, put
wages/salary
for each one
feet, to fellate
chat, talk, gossip
woman
teeth
taxi
hair
hairdresser
run away
leg, deny a rumour
policeman
steal (from a client)
hold-all
wig
stage, rostrum
make-up
shoes/dancing shoes
piano
thighs (sometimes: arms)
sex, a partner for sex
walk (esp. looking for trade)
see, look at
breasts
eyes
------------
una
dewey
tray
quattro
chinker
sayi
setter
otter
nobba
daiture
|
