Gather round, duckies, for the story of Polari—a secret language with a dollop of sparkle and a whole lot of sass! Born out of necessity and peppered with cheek, Polari is a linguistic cocktail shaken up by sailors, actors, circus folk, and market traders. But the queens of the Polari scene were London’s LGBTQ+ community in the mid-20th century, who used it to keep their chats private and their spirits high in a world that wasn’t always so kind.
Imagine it: a dingy East End bar in the 1950s, packed with fabulous folks trading gossip, throwing shade, and deciding which shoes were bona (good) and which were naff (terrible). Polari was their code, their armor, and their comedy routine all in one.
The vocabulary was a mash-up of influences: Romani, Yiddish, Italian, Cockney rhyming slang, and a sprinkle of Shakespeare for good measure. It was like linguistic jazz—always improvising, always fabulous. You could “vada the omi” (check out the man) or decide if his “lallies” (legs) were worth a second look. And if someone wasn’t quite up to snuff? Well, duckie, they were simply “naff.”
By the 1970s, Polari started to fade, as legal and social changes made LGBTQ+ lives safer and less secretive. But the language didn’t disappear; it sashayed its way into pop culture, cropping up in plays, TV shows like Round the Horne, and even inspiring a few modern brands.
Today, Polari is celebrated as a piece of queer history, a reminder of resilience, and proof that even in the darkest times, people will find a way to laugh, love, and throw a little linguistic glitter. So next time you’re feeling dolly, give a nod to the queens of Polari and keep the spirit alive. Ciao, duckie! 🌟