adjective General Slang

Bona

/ˈbəʊnə/ · adjective · slang

Polari for good, fine or lovely — the warm thumbs-up at the heart of the cant.

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Definitions

1

Used as a greeting or affirmation, roughly 'great' or 'all right'. Often paired into set phrases, most famously 'bona to vada' (good to see).

“Bona! Sit yourself down and have a bevvy.”
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2

As an intensifying prefix it stacks with other Polari words, so 'bona nochy' meant good night and 'bona riah' meant nice hair.

“She gave me a bona riah and a bona eek to match.”
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3

In Polari, the all-purpose adjective for 'good', 'nice' or 'attractive'. Almost certainly from Italian or Lingua Franca 'buona' (good), reflecting Polari's roots in travelling players' and sailors' Mediterranean borrowings.

“Vada that omi — bona, in't he?”
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Bona In A Sentence

Everything about the lattie was bona — warm, safe and away from the charpering omis.
He poured a bona drop of gin and we settled in for the night.
Bona nochy, dear — troll home safe.

Origin & Usage

Polari, the gay and theatrical cant of mid-20th-century Britain; 'bona' is generally traced to Italian/Lingua Franca 'buona' (good), as documented by linguist Paul Baker in 'Fabulosa! The Story of Polari' (2019).

Variants bonarbonaroo
Tags #polari#lgbtq#british#heritage#vintage#lexicon

People Also Ask

What does bona mean?

It is Polari for 'good', 'fine' or 'attractive' — one of the most common words in the cant.

Where did bona come from?

Most scholars, including Paul Baker, trace it to Italian or Lingua Franca 'buona' (good), brought into English via travelling entertainers and sailors.

Is bona still used today?

It survives in heritage and revival contexts, and famously in the BBC radio characters Julian and Sandy, who helped keep Polari alive.

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