Protection and freedom to communicate

February 13, 2024 12:33 AM

You’d have heard it in gay pubs and bars, as well as being spoken on cruise ships where lots of gay men worked, up until the 1970s. You might also hear it in cruising areas: cinemas, Turkish baths, parks and public loos, although it might be more of a hissed warning: “Lily!” when the police were spotted. And you might hear it on public transport so that two people could have a conversation without others understanding. from The Secret Gay Language Still in Use Today [Huck Magazine]

Fabulosa!
A Bona Nosh
Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men
Polari and the Hidden History of Gay Seafarers
Rediscovering Polari: What Is Polari And Why Did It Die Out?



Polari, previously

posted by chavenet (16 comments total)

Polari showed up in this episode of In Our Time (podcast). An amazing little detour that starts at Lingua Franca and winds up more or less at Polari.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:15 AM on February 13 [4 favorites]

I became aware of Polari through Nigel Planer's character on Filthy Rich and Catflap.
posted by jabah at 5:45 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

How bona to vada your dolly eek, Mr Horne!
posted by Grangousier at 5:48 AM on February 13 [6 favorites]

The Eater.com link mentions the BBC's Are You Being Served? which we still watch as comfort food, but is kind of a fascinating to me as a snapshot of a changing culture in the UK. The show is sprinkled with Polari, not just from Mr. Humphries but we even see the stuffy/very hetero Mr Peacock give a whole line in one episode.

The show also routinely mentioned other British department stores with the addition of one fictional store - Lally and Willets. Which translates to "legs and breasts" in Polari.
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:04 AM on February 13 [9 favorites]

Polari is so much fun. Maybe too much fun to be entirely true; I've read some things that suggest the historical nature of it is about like hankie codes. Which means to say it's based on something real but has been embellished and improved over time. Nothing wrong with that but I am curious about the historical truth of it as well as its evolving role in contemporary culture.

My favorite example of Polari is the English translation of the game Dragon Quest Builders 2 where the character Jules speaks Polari (in Spongebob mixed case). The translation team had a lot of fun with it. The whole localization is very clever and full of slang, with other characters saying things like "Gordon Bennett in a bap for brunch". Some discussion here.

There's also a Polari Bible. Rev 5:

1 And I vardad in the sweet martini of her that sat on the throne a glossy screeved within and on the backside, sealed with setter seals.
2 And I vardad a butch fairy proclaiming with a loud cackling fakement, Who is bona to open the glossy, and to loose the seals thereof?
3 And no homie in heaven, nishta in earth, nishta under the earth, was able to open the glossy, nishta to varda thereon.
4 And I parnied dowry, because no homie was found bona to open and to varda the lavs the glossy, nishta to varda thereon.

And a Church of England service

Fabeness be to the Auntie, and to the Homie Chavvie, and to the Fantabulosa Fairy.

posted by Nelson at 8:54 AM on February 13 [7 favorites]

Suprising no one, I learned about Polari first through a Morrissey song, and later through Danny the Street.
posted by Kitteh at 9:05 AM on February 13 [7 favorites]

I recently discovered Polari in this wonderful Good Omens fan fic, it's the light (it's the obstacle that casts it) .

Thanks so much for posting this fine collection of links, chavenet - the Huck interview is great. Thank you for sharing this with us!
posted by kristi at 9:20 AM on February 13 [2 favorites]

Polari also shows up in the movie Velvet Goldmine with subtitles no less.
posted by jonp72 at 9:52 AM on February 13 [7 favorites]

Polari is so much fun. Maybe too much fun to be entirely true; I've read some things that suggest the historical nature of it is about like hankie codes. Which means to say it's based on something real but has been embellished and improved over time.

Yes, some of the more enthusiastic descriptions I've read have a certain wish-fulfillment "truthiness" quality to them that counsels caution, at least with respect to their literal historical truth. The urge to invent your own historical continuity is so strong!

Speaking of historical continuity, Steve Ostrow died this week.
posted by praemunire at 10:11 AM on February 13 [6 favorites]

I highly recommend Fabulosa, the book. Fascinating reading if you love slang, linguistics, or queer people.

It's linked in one of the sites in the post, but I wanted to call it out. It's that good.
posted by gingerbeer at 11:58 AM on February 13 [4 favorites]

Filipino equivalent: Gay Filipinos Coin the Coolest Kind of Slang with 'Beki' Talk (Vice media)

It's very much in use today, and still evolving!
posted by tinydancer at 12:15 PM on February 13 [3 favorites]

Man, I haven't read A Clockwork Orange in forever.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 12:23 PM on February 13 [2 favorites]

Fun post, thank you OP! The book Proud Pink Sky by Redfern Jon Barrett also uses Polari.
posted by wicked_sassy at 1:44 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

I don't remember exactly where it was now, but years ago I had dinner at a restaurant in Shoreditch where all the cocktail names on the menu were Polari references.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:58 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

The Hoi Polloi at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch? The Eater.com link at top (A Bona Nosh) mentions it.
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:38 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

I knew there was a bunch of slang used by gay men when homosexuality was illegal, but didn't realise it was as extensive as this. Interesting reads!
posted by dg at 4:00 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]