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Polari
Polari
Seemingly wedded to our apps today it's easy to forget that only a few decades ago Polari was used widely as a safe means of communication for the gay community.
Polari is an eclectic mix of slang, dialects and foreign words, and original words and phrases, woven into English language grammar and syntax. Even today, you have used Polari if you've ever had a few bevvies at the pub, zhooshed up your bijou flat, or said something is a bit naff.
Before homosexuality was decriminalised, Polari allowed gay people to speak openly and identify themselves as gay without attracting unwanted interest or the attention of undercover charpering omis (policemen). Unless you were in the know, you would only partially understand what was being said and hear nothing incriminating.
How gay men used to speak: a short film in Polari | Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston | 24 Jun 2015 | 6m 17s
More
Polari | Wikipedia
Polari: Word List | Chris Denning
The secret language of polari | Merseyside Maritime Museum
Polari Magazine | Polari Magazine
What's Polari | Lancashire University
Polari: The code language gay men used to survive | BBC Culture
A Polari Etymology According to a Diagrammatic by Alfred H Barr (1936) | Jez Dolan
Olly Alexander: Polari | Album Review | Silent Radio | 7 Feb 2025
How secret queer languages inspired the popular slang we use today | LGBT Nation | 12 Jun 2024
LGBT+ History Month: Jez Dolan’s ‘Wolfenden’ | House of Lords Library | 31 Jan 2022
The language of the fairground community: secrets of Parlyaree | University of Sheffield | 22 Jun 2021
A brief history of Polari: the curious after-life of the dead language for gay men | The Conversation | 8 Feb 2017
Church 'regret' as trainees hold service in gay slang | BBC News | 4 Feb 2017
The Opacity of Queer Languages | e-flux Journal | Anna T | Dec 2014
Polari, a vibrant language born out of prejudice | The Guardian | 24 May 2010
Learn these shady Polari phrases during quarantine, You cackling Alice! | Hornet | Daniel Villarreal | 3 Apr 2020
Polari - A short documentary about the lost language of gay men | Chris Brake | 2018 | 14m 32s
Polari: The code language gay men used to survive | BBC Culture | 13 February 2018
Polari (Short Documentary, 60s Season, 2004) | ppotter | 12 Feb 2018 | 8m 39s
Stuart Feather and Bette Bourne talk about Polari | Re-Dock | 28 May 2014 | 4m 40s
Bona Eke: Song in Polari | artdecoandy | 7 Dec 2014 | 5m 03s
Polari | The One BBC: One Show 17 Jan 2010 | 4m 00s
