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Polari (from Italian parlare 'to talk') is a form ofslang orcant historically used primarily in theUnited Kingdom among thegay subculture, as well as some actors, circus and fairground performers,professional wrestlers,merchant navy sailors,criminals, andprostitutes.

There is some debate about its origins,^[2] but it can be traced to at least the 19th century and possibly as early as the 16th century.^[3] Polari has a long-standing connection withPunch and Judy street puppeteers, who traditionally used it to converse.^[4]

Alternative spellings includeParlare,Parlary,Palare,Palarie andPalari.

Polari is a mixture of Romance (Italian^[5] orMediterranean Lingua Franca),Romani,rhyming slang, sailors' slang andthieves' cant, which later expanded to contain words fromYiddish and 1960sdrug subculture slang. It was constantly evolving, with a small core lexicon of about 20 words, including:bona (good),^[6]ajax (nearby),eek (face),cod (bad, in the sense of tacky or vile),naff (bad, in the sense of drab or dull, though borrowed into mainstream British English with a meaning more like that ofcod),lattie (room, house, flat),nanti (not, no),omi (man),palone (woman),riah (hair),zhoosh ortjuz (smarten up, stylise),TBH ('to be had', sexually accessible),trade (sex) andvada (see).^[7]

There were once two distinct forms of Polari in London: anEast End version which stressedCockney rhyming slang and aWest End version which stressed theatrical and classical influences. There was some interchange between the two.^[8]

In theLGBTQ community, Polari also involves inverting gendered personal pronouns and names, typically switching them from male forms to female forms. For example,he may becomeshe (known asshe-ing), and the namePaul may becomePauline.^[9][10][11]

From the 19th century on, Polari was used in London fish markets, theatres, fairgrounds, and circuses, hence the many borrowings fromRomani.^[12] As many homosexual men worked in theatrical entertainment, it was also used among the gay subculture to disguise homosexuals from hostile outsiders andundercover policemen. It was also used extensively in the BritishMerchant Navy, where many gay men worked as waiters, stewards, and entertainers.^[13]

According toOxford English Dictionary associate editorPeter Gilliver little written evidence of Polari exists before the 1890s. The dictionary's entry forrozzer (policeman) includes a quote from P. H. Emerson's 1893 bookSignor Lippo – Burnt Cork Artiste:^[14] "If the rozzers was to see him in bona clobber they'd take him for a gun." ("If the police were to see him finely dressed, they would know that he is a thief.")^[15]

The almost identicalParlyaree has been spoken in fairgrounds since at least the 17th century^[16] and is still used by show travellers in England and Scotland. As theatrical booths, circus acts, and menageries were once common parts of European fairs, it is likely that the roots of Polari/Parlyaree lie in the period before both theatre and circus became independent of fairgrounds. The Parlyaree spoken on fairgrounds tends to borrow much more from Romani, as well as other languages and cants spoken by travelling people, such as thieves' cant andback slang.^{[citation needed]}

Henry Mayhew gave an account of Polari as part of an interview with aPunch and Judy showman in the 1850s. The discussion he recorded references Punch's arrival in England, crediting these early shows to an Italian performer called Porcini (John Payne Collier's account calls him Porchini, a literal rendering of the Italian pronunciation).^[17] Mayhew provides the following:

Punch Talk

"Bona Parle" means language; name of patter. "Yeute munjare" – no food. "Yeute lente" – no bed. "Yeute bivare" – no drink. I've "yeute munjare", and "yeute bivare", and, what's worse, "yeute lente". This is better than the costers' talk, because that ain't no slang and all, and this is a broken Italian, and much higher than the costers' lingo. We know what o'clock it is, besides.^[4]

Additional accounts of particular words relate to puppet performance:^[4]

• "'Slumarys' – figures, frame, scenes, properties.
• "'Slum' – call, or unknown tongue" ("unknown" is a reference to the "swazzle", a voice modifier used by Punch performers).

Polari had begun to fall into disuse among the gay subculture by the late 1960s. The popularity of the BBC radio comedyRound the Horne, with itscamp gay charactersJulian and Sandy, ensured that some of the Polari terms they used became public knowledge.^[18] The need for a secret means of communication in the subculture also declined with the partial decriminalisation of adult homosexual acts in England and Wales under theSexual Offences Act 1967; in the 1970s, thegay liberation movement began to view Polari as old-fashioned and perpetuating harmful camp stereotypes.^[19]

A number of words from Polari have entered mainstream slang. The list below includes words in general use with the meanings listed:acdc,barney,blag,butch,camp,khazi,cottaging,hoofer,mince,ogle,scarper,slap,strides,tod,[rough] trade.^{[citation needed]}

The Polari wordnaff, meaning inferior or tacky, has an uncertain etymology.Michael Quinion says it is probably from the 16th-century Italian wordgnaffa, meaning "a despicable person".^[20] There are a number offalse etymologies, many based onbackronyms—"Not Available For Fucking", "Normal As Fuck", etc. The phrase "naff off" was usedeuphemistically in place of "fuck off" along with theintensifier "naffing" inKeith Waterhouse'sBilly Liar (1959).^[21] Usage of "naff" increased in the 1970s when thetelevisionsitcomPorridge employed it as an alternative to expletives which were not broadcastable at the time.^[20]Princess Anne allegedly told a reporter to "naff off" at the Badminton horse trials in April 1982.^[22] However, the photographers who were present have since stated that this was a censored version of what she actually said.^[23]

"Zhoosh" (/ʒʊʃ,ʒuːʃ/;^[24] alternatively spelled "zhuzh," "jeuje," and a number of other variety spellings^[25]), meaning to smarten up, style or improve something, became commonplace in the mid-2000s, having been used in the 2003 United States TV seriesQueer Eye for the Straight Guy andWhat Not to Wear.^{[citation needed]} "Jush", an alternative spelling of the word, was popularised by drag queenJasmine Masters after her appearance on theseventh series ofRuPaul's Drag Race in 2015.^[26][27]

Since the late 20th and early 21st century, there has been a renewed interest in Polari, especially as a part of LGBTQ+ heritage.^[28][29][30]Gay's the Word has held workshops in Polari, theSisters of Perpetual Indulgence have translated (partially relexified) the King James Bible into Polari,^[31] and Madame Jo Jo's nightclub in Soho taught its staff to speak Polari.^[32]

Now asreefing fakements offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

LinguistPaul Baker attributes increased interest in Polari primarily to the growing body of academic work on the subject.^[28][29] Author George Reiner explains that "the revival of a language like Polari offers the possibility of an alternate queer linguistic space" at a time when closing LGBTQ+ venues and dating apps have reduced queer social spaces.^[29]

In 2007, writer and activistPaul Burston launched Polari Literary Salon in London to platform LGBTQ+ writers. He launched thePolari First Book Prize in 2011. This was followed by the Polari Prize for LGBTQ+ writers at all stages of their career in 2019 and the Polari Children's & YA Prize in 2022.^[33][34] Other organisations have also taken names inspired by Polari, such asPolari Magazine,^[35]Vada Magazine,^[36] and VADA LGBTQ Community Theatre Company.^[37]

In 2012 and 2013, Manchester artists Jez Dolan and Joe Richardson presented a performance-based tour and exhibition titledPolari Mission, which explored LGBTQ+ history and language use in the UK. This was presented atThe John Rylands Library andContact Theatre.^[38] In 2015, Dolan also translated sections of the 1957Wolfenden Report into Polari for a commission from the UK Parliament.^[39][40] Dolan and Richardson also worked with Paul Baker to produce a 500-word dictionary of Polari as an app.^[41]

In December 2016, to launch LGBT+ History Month 2017 and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the1967 Sexual Offences Act, poetAdam Lowe performed his Polari poem "Vada That" in Parliament'sSpeaker's House with accompaniment by musician Nikki Franklin.^[42] In 2017, a service atWestcott House, Cambridge was conducted in Polari. Trainee priests held the service to commemorateLGBT History Month; following media attention,Chris Chivers, the principal, expressed his regret.^{[43][44][45][46]}

In 2019,Reaktion Books published Paul Baker's third book on Polari,Fabulosa!: The Story of Polari, Britain's Secret Gay Language.^[47][48] His first two books on the subject (Polari: Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang andPolari: The Lost Language of Gay Men) were published in 2002 and 2003, respectively.^[49]

• Polari (spelt "Polare") was popularised on the 1960s BBC radio showRound the Horne. Thecamp gay Polari-speaking charactersJulian and Sandy were played byHugh Paddick andKenneth Williams.^[50]
• In theDoctor Who serialCarnival of Monsters (1973), Vorg, a showman, attempts to converse with the Doctor in Polari.^[51]
• Ralph Filthy, atheatrical agent played byNigel Planer in the BBC TV seriesFilthy Rich & Catflap, regularly used Polari.^[52]
• In 1990Morrissey released the single "Piccadilly Palare" containing a number of lyrics in Polari and exploring a subculture in which Polari was used. "Piccadilly Palare" later appeared on his compilation albumBona Drag, whose title is also taken from Polari.^[53]
• InDoom Patrol,Danny the Street often speaks Polari.^[54]
• In his 1995 novelBehind Closed Doors,Coronation Street creatorTony Warren depicts his characters using Polari on thegay scene of 1950s Manchester.^[55]
• In the 1998 filmVelvet Goldmine, two characters speak Polari in a London nightclub. The scene has English subtitles in the American release of the film.^[19]
• In 2015 Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston made a short film, "Putting on the Dish", which features a conversation entirely in Polari.^[56][57]
• The songGirl Loves Me fromDavid Bowie's 2016 albumBlackstar features lyrics in both Polari and the fictional languageNadsat from the novelA Clockwork Orange.^[58]
• In 2018 George Reiner and Penny Burkett publishedcruising for lavs, written mostly in Polari.^[28]
• In 2019 the first opera in Polari,The Sins of the Cities of the Plain (based on thebook of the same title), premiered at Espacio Turina inSeville, Spain. Thelibretto was written in Polari by librettist andplaywright Fabrizio Funari and the music is by Germán Alonso.^[59]
• The same year, the English-language localisation of the Japanese video gameDragon Quest Builders 2 included a character called Jules, who spoke in Polari with non-standard capitalisation.^[60][61]
• In the 2020 filmRoald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse, a youngRoald Dahl runs away from home and meets "a silver-tongued, Polari-speaking eccentric who may be a figment of the boy's imagination" played byBill Bailey.^[62]
• In 2023Peepal Tree Press publishedAdam Lowe's debut poetry collectionPatterflash, which features a number of Polari poems. The title is translated in the book's glossary as "Gossip, chat, ostentatious or pretentious speech; the lyrics pouring out of my gob".^[63]
• In the fourth episode ofFunny Woman (2024), characters discuss BBC Radio using Polari inRound the Horne and visit a comedy club where gay and entertainment-industry characters converse in Polari.^[64]
• British singerOlly Alexander released his debut albumPolari on 7 February 2025.^[65]

Numbers:

Some words or phrases that may derive from Polari (this is an incomplete list):

Omies and palones of thejury, vada well at the eek of the poor ome who stands before you, his lallies trembling. – taken from "Bona Law", one of theJulian and Sandy sketches fromRound The Horne, written byBarry Took andMarty Feldman

Translation: "Men and women of the jury, look well at the face of the poor man who stands before you, his legs trembling."

So bona to vada...oh you! Your lovely eek and your lovely riah. – taken from "Piccadilly Palare", a song byMorrissey

Translation: "So good to see...oh you! Your lovely face and your lovely hair."

As feely ommes...we would zhoosh our riah, powder our eeks, climb into our bona new drag, don our batts and troll off to some bona bijou bar. In the bar we would stand around with our sisters, vada the bona cartes on the butch omme ajax who, if we fluttered our ogle riahs at him sweetly, might just troll over to offer a light for the unlit vogue clenched between our teeth. – taken fromParallel Lives, the memoirs of renowned gay journalistPeter Burton

Translation: "As young men...we would style our hair, powder our faces, climb into our great new clothes, don our shoes and wander/walk off to some great little bar. In the bar we would stand around with our gay companions, look at the great genitals on the butch man nearby who, if we fluttered our eyelashes at him sweetly, might just wander/walk over to offer a light for the unlitcigarette clenched between our teeth."

In theAre You Being Served? episode "The Old Order Changes", Captain Peacock asks Mr Humphries to get "some strides for the omi with the naff riah" (i.e., trousers for the fellow with the unstylish hair).^[77]

• African-American Vernacular English (sometimes called Ebonics)
• Bahasa Binan
• Boontling
• Caló (Chicano)
• Carny, North American fairground cant
• Gayle language
• Gay slang
• Grypsera
• IsiNgqumo
• Lavender linguistics
• Lunfardo andVesre
• Mediterranean Lingua Franca
• Pajubá
• Julian and Sandy
• Rotwelsch
• Shelta
• Swardspeak, argot used by LGBT people in the Philippines
• Verlan
• Lubunca

• Baker, Paul (2002).Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang. London: Continuum.ISBN 0-8264-5961-7.
• Baker, Paul (2003).Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men. London: Routledge.ISBN 978-1-134-50635-4.
• Baker, Paul (2019).Fabulosa!: The Story of Polari, Britain's Secret Gay Language. London: Reaktion Books.ISBN 978-1-78914-168-9.
• Elmes, Simon;Rosen, Michael (2002).Word of Mouth. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-866263-7.

For a list of words relating to Polari, see theEnglish terms derived from Polari category of words inWiktionary, the free dictionary.

• The Polari Bible compiled by The Manchester Sisters of Perpetual IndulgenceArchived 12 April 2016 at theWayback Machine
• Polari Mission exhibit (archived) at theUniversity of Manchester'sJohn Rylands Library
• Colin Richardson,The Guardian, 17 January 2005, "What brings you trolling back, then?"
• Liverpool Museums: The secret language of polari (archived)
• Paul Clevett's Polari Translator
• Putting it on the Dish, a 2015 short film featuring Polari extensively
• A brief history of Polari: the curious after-life of the dead language for gay men, 8 February 2017.
• Polari Dictionary based on Paul Baker's glossary and dictionary

• English language in England
• English-based argots
• English language in London
• British slang
• LGBTQ culture in the United Kingdom
• Gay working-class culture
• LGBTQ argots
• LGBTQ slang

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