Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay SlangPolari has been the secret language of gay men and women throughout the twentieth century. But more than a language, Polari is an attitude. From the prisons and music halls of Edwardian England to Kenneth Williams, American GIs in London, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Polari has been used to laugh, bitch, gossip, and cruise. Like all slang, Polari is an ever-changing vocabulary. Derived from words used by criminals, circus artists, beggars and prostitutes, it also employs elements of Italian, Yiddish, French, rhyming slang, and backslang. Since gay liberation, lesbian and gay slang has become less a language of concealment than a language of specialization, though the tradition of camp remains. A carefully researched and entertaining read, The Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang presents a lexicon of Polari and a more general dictionary of lesbian and gay slang. If you don't yet know what vada the bona cartes on the ommee ajax, parkering ninty, a Mexican nightmare, or a nellyectomy are, then this is the book for you. |
Contents
duction to the Dictionary of Polari | 1 |
onary of Polari | 9 |
duction to the Dictionary of Gay Slang | 63 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
acronym acronym for Gay adjective advertising slang anal sex anus attractive back-slang Barebacking slang BDSM BDSM roleplay bear noun bisexual body Bona bottom boy noun butch camp Cant closet clothing Club cross-dress cruising daddy Derived derogatory dictionary dildo dolly drag queen Drag queen slang drugs dyke effeminate example female feminine femme fetish French friends fuck gay bar gay male gay sex gay slang Gayle gender girl hair heterosexual homosexual involving Italian Julian and Sandy language leather lesbian lifestyle Main Entry masculine masturbation meaning muscle naff omee one's oral sex Originally Parlyaree party penis personal advert phrase play Polari popular prostitute queen noun queer refer relationship rhyming slang ring semen sex noun sexual fetish slang words someone straight-acting term tit torture toilet transgendered transsexual transvestite truncation twink usually verb vocative wear woman women young zhoosh