It was fairly common for Polari phrases to appear in theatre and ballet and is often variously referred to as Palare, Palyaree or Palary.ĭespite their original meanings being virtually forgotten, some Polari words and phrases are still used today, with camp, trade and butch all stemming from the gay slang. The language is made up of a combination of “Italianate phrases, rhyming slang and cant terms,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. READ MORE: 'The Female Cabdriver of Liverpool' who was arrested for stealing meat Hence why it was used as a tool for gay men to express themselves without the fear of being fired, thrown into jail or chemically castrated. It is believed the lexicon wasn’t a constructed language but rather a mysterious vocabulary developed during a time when society not only stigmatised but illegalised homosexuality. That may seem like gibberish to some, but to others, particularly older generations of the LGBTQIA+ community, it translates into Polari and means “play something nice on the piano.” Polari was a spoken language used in the 1950s and 60s by gay men to skirt around the UK’s harsh anti-homosexuality laws.
“Lau your luppers on the strillers bona.”
