Polari — Britain’s Secret Gay Slang
Polari was the coded language of Britain’s gay subculture — plus actors, sailors and fairground folk — through the decades when homosexuality was illegal. Drawn from Italian, Cockney, back-slang and Romani, it was a tool of survival and solidarity. Decoded here as heritage, with respect — drawing on Paul Baker’s scholarship.
48 words
Polari for to smarten, fluff or style up — the word that gave us modern 'zhuzh'.
Polari for a dull or unavailable man — 'naff' here meaning ordinary, possibly 'not available for...'.
Polari for wonderful or marvellous — a blend of fabulous and fantastic with extra flourish.
Polari for a gay man — literally 'man-woman', a coded self-name under criminalisation.
Polari habit of using the feminine pronoun for a man — affectionate or pointed.
Polari and wider British slang for a drink, usually alcoholic — short for 'beverage'.
Polari for a woman or girl — likely from Italian 'paglione' or a Romance root.
Mature content — open to view.
Polari: homosexual, as in 'Is he so?'
Polari for 'look at the pretty face' — vada = look, dolly = pretty, eek = face.
Mid-20th-century coded phrase for a gay man.
Polari for the ear, to listen, or a sharp 'shush!'
Mature content — open to view.
Polari for bad — tacky, naff, vile.
Polari for none, no, or beware — a vital warning word in dangerous times.
Mature content — open to view.
Polari for walking with mannered, effeminate little steps.
Mature content — open to view.
Polari for the eyes, with 'ogles' a pair and 'ogle riahs' the eyelashes.
Mature content — open to view.
Cockney back-slang for 'look' — a coded 'watch out' that later passed into Polari.
Polari for goodnight — from Italian 'buona notte'.
Mature content — open to view.
Polari for a lesbian — literally 'woman-man.'
Polari for hands ('lills') and fingers ('luppers').
Polari for a man — from Italian 'uomo', and the root of many compound terms.
The name of the cant itself — and a verb meaning to talk — Britain's secret gay language.
Polari for the face — back-slang of 'ecaf', itself 'face' reversed.
Polari for to look at or to see — the verb of the discreet, knowing glance.
Polari for bad, naff or tacky — the opposite of bona.
Polari for 'to search or look for' — and a 'charpering omi' is a copper.
Polari: to walk about, especially while cruising for trade.
Polari for good, fine or lovely — the warm thumbs-up at the heart of the cant.
Polari for a policeman — literally a 'searching man', the figure most feared by speakers.
Polari for a toilet, lavatory or house — from Italian 'casa', and the root of Cockney 'khazi'.
To run off or flee fast — Polari and Cockney for making a quick getaway.
Polari for hair — simply 'hair' spelled backwards, a classic back-slang coining.
Polari and gay slang for masculine or tough — a presentation, not a slur.
Polari for fortune or luck — a hopeful word from Romance roots.
Polari for nearby — clipped from 'adjacent'.