SNP’s word of the day: Polari

Word: Polari

Meaning: A 1960s gay argot, or slang language—slanguage?—used mostly in Britain.

Usage: “The news of Polari’s demise contained a deeper question: is it a language at all?” — Michael Shulman in “Language Murder”

You should know it because: The current issue of The Believer contains an exploration of Polari, in the wake of its having been declared a dying language by the University of Cambridge in 2010. For most us, it might as well have already been dead. Polari is said to have its roots in the 18th century, but didn’t reach near-popularity until the 1950s, when undercover gay men used the curious jumble of slang, dialect, and foreign language to reveal themselves to each other. “Bona riah. Let’s mince back to my latty, but watch for charpering omi,” means something like, “Nice hair. Let’s go back to my place, but watch for policemen.” Some words have remained, like “mince,” “naff,” “drag,” and “bevvies,” but most are long forgotten—the odd relics of a mostly (thankfully) gone time of extreme persecution. Still, you can find various Polari dictionaries online, then use the words to describe, say, Rick Santorum.

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