Editing Polari (section)

==Glossary==
Numbers:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Number
! Definition
! Italian numbers
|-
|''medza'', ''medzer''||half||''mezza''
|-
|''una'', ''oney''||one || ''uno''
|-
|''dooey''||two || ''due''
|-
|''tray''||three || ''tre''
|-
|''quarter''||four || ''quattro''
|-
|''chinker''||five || ''cinque''
|-
|''say''||six || ''sei''
|-
|''say oney'', ''setter''||seven || ''sette''
|-
|''say dooey'', ''otter''||eight || ''otto''
|-
|''say tray'', ''nobber''||nine || ''nove''
|-
|''daiture''||ten ||''dieci''
|-
|''long dedger'', ''lepta''||eleven ||''undici''
|-
|''kenza''||twelve||''dodici''
|-
|''chenter''<ref name=":0"/>
|one hundred
|cento
|}
'''Some words or phrases that may derive from Polari (this is an incomplete list):'''<!--e.g., "camp" (adj. & noun) is described as "etymology obscure", not Polari, in the OED-->
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Word
! Definition
|-
|{{lang|pld|acdc}}, {{lang|pld|bibi}}||bisexual{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|49}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|ajax}}||nearby (shortened form of "adjacent to"){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|49}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|alamo!}}||they're attractive! (via [[acronym]] "LMO" meaning "Lick Me Out!"){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|52,59}}
|-
| {{lang|pld|arva}}||to have sex (from Italian ''chiavare'', to screw)<ref name="What is Polari All About">{{cite web|url=http://www.polarimagazine.com/bulletin-board/polari/|title=What is Polari All About?|website=Polari Magazine|date=13 August 2012 |access-date=30 July 2018}}</ref>
|-
|{{lang|pld|aunt nell}}||listen!{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|52}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|aunt nells}}||ears{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|45}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|aunt nelly fakes}}||earrings{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|59,60}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|barney}}||a fight{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|164}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|bat}}, {{lang|pld|batts}}, {{lang|pld|bates}}||shoes{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|164}}
|-
|''bevvy''|| drink (diminutive of "beverage")<ref name="liverpoolmuseums.org.uk"/>
|-
|{{lang|pld|[[Bitch (insult)#In reference to men|bitch]]}} || effeminate or passive gay man
|-
|{{lang|pld|bijou}}||small/little (from French, jewel){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|57}}
|-
| {{lang|pld|bitaine}}||whore (French ''{{Lang|fr|putain}}'')
|-
|{{lang|pld|blag}}||pick up{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|46}}
|-
| {{lang|pld|bold}}|| homosexual<ref name="What is Polari All About"/>
|-
|{{lang|pld|bona}}||good{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|26,32,85}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|bona nochy}}||goodnight (from Italian – ''{{lang|it|buona notte}}''){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|52}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|[[Butch and femme|butch]]}}||masculine; masculine lesbian{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|167}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|buvare}}||a drink; something drinkable (from Italian – ''{{lang|it|bere}}'' or old-fashioned Italian – ''{{lang|it|bevere}}'' or Lingua Franca ''bevire''){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|167}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|cackle}}||talk/gossip{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|168}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|[[Camp (style)|camp]]}}||effeminate (possibly from Italian ''{{lang|it|campare}}'' or ''{{lang|it|campeggiare}}'' "emphasise, make stand out") (possibly from the phrase 'camp follower' those itinerants who followed behind the men in uniform/highly decorative dress)
|-
|{{lang|pld|capello}}, {{lang|pld|capella}}, {{lang|pld|capelli}}, {{lang|pld|kapella}}||hat (from Italian – ''{{lang|it|cappello}}''){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|168}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|carsey}}, {{lang|pld|karsey}}, {{lang|pld|khazi}}||toilet{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|168}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|cartes}}||penis (from Italian – ''{{lang|it|cazzo}}''){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|97}}
|-
|{{lang|pld|cats}}||trousers{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|168}}
|-
|''charper''||to search or to look (from Italian ''acchiappare'', to catch){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|168}}
|-
|''charpering omi''||policeman
|-
|''charver''||sexual intercourse{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|46}}
|-
|''[[chicken (gay slang)|chicken]]''||young man
|-
|''clevie''||vagina<ref name=auto>Grose, Francis (2012). ''1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.'' tebbo. {{ISBN|978-1-4861-4841-7}}</ref>
|-
|''clobber''||clothes{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|138,139,169}}
|-
|''cod''||bad{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|169}}
|-
|''corybungus''||backside, posterior<ref name=auto/>
|-
|''cottage''||a public lavatory used for sexual encounters (public lavatories in British parks and elsewhere were often built in the style of a Tudor cottage)[https://c8.alamy.com/comp/BJ4MCR/half-timbered-mock-tudor-public-toilet-block-in-aldeburgh-suffolk-BJ4MCR.jpg]
|-
|''[[cottaging]]''||seeking or obtaining sexual encounters in public lavatories
|-
|''cove''||taxi{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|61}}
|-
|''dhobi'' / ''dhobie'' / ''dohbie''||wash (from Hindi, ''dohb''){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|171}}
|-
|''Dilly boy''||a male prostitute, from Piccadilly boy
|-
|''Dilly, the''||Piccadilly, a place where trolling went on
|-
|''dinari''||money (Latin 'denarii' was the 'd' of the pre decimal penny. This word is cognate with the Spanish word 'dinero' also meaning money)<ref>C. H. V. Sutherland, ''English Coinage 600-1900'' (1973, {{ISBN|0-7134-0731-X}}), p. 10</ref>
|-
|''dish''||buttocks{{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|45}}
|-
|''dolly''||pretty, nice, pleasant, (from Irish ''dóighiúil''/Scottish Gaelic ''dòigheil'', handsome, pronounced 'doil')
|-
|''dona''||woman (perhaps from Italian ''donna'' or Lingua Franca ''dona''){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|26}}
|-
|''ecaf''||face (backslang){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|58,210}}
|-
|''eek/eke''<ref name=":0"/>||face (abbreviation of ecaf){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|58,210}}
|-
| ''ends''||hair<ref name="liverpoolmuseums.org.uk"/>
|-
|''esong'', ''sedon''||nose (backslang){{sfn|Baker|2003}}{{rp|31}}
|-
|''fambles''||hands<ref name=auto/>
|-
|''fantabulosa''||fabulous/wonderful
|-
|''farting crackers''||trousers<ref name=auto/>
|-
|''feele'' / ''feely'' / ''filly''||child/young (from the Italian ''figlio,'' for son)
|-
|''feele omi'' / ''feely omi''|| young man
|-
|''flowery''||lodgings, accommodations<ref name=auto/>
|-
|''fogus''||tobacco
|-
|''fortuni''||gorgeous, beautiful<ref name=auto/>
|-
|''[[Fruit (slang)#As gay slang|fruit]]''||gay man
|-
|''funt''||pound £ (Yiddish)
|-
|''fungus''||old man/beard<ref name=auto/>
|-
|''gelt''||money (Yiddish)
|-
|''handbag''||money
|-
|''hoofer''||dancer
|-
|''HP'' (''homy palone'')||effeminate gay man
|-
|''irish''||wig (from rhyming slang, "Irish jig")
|-
|''jarry''||food, also ''mangarie'' (from Italian ''mangiare'' or Lingua Franca ''mangiaria'')
|-
|''jubes''||breasts
|-
|''kaffies''||trousers
|-
|''lacoddy, lucoddy''||body
|-
|''lallies'' / ''lylies''||legs, sometimes also knees (as in "get down on yer lallies")
|-
|''lallie tappers''||feet
|-
|''latty'' / ''lattie''||room, house or flat
|-
|''lau'' ||lay or place upon<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polarimagazine.com/editorial/lau-your-luppers-on-the-strillers-bona/|title=A Polari Christmas|website=Polari Magazine|date=12 December 2009|access-date=30 July 2018}}</ref>
|-
|''lavs''||words<ref name="The Polari Bible">{{cite web|url=http://www.josephrichardson.tv/polari-bible.html/|title=The Polari Bible|website=.josephrichardson.tv|access-date=30 July 2018|archive-date=2 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602063315/http://www.josephrichardson.tv/polari-bible.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> (Irish: ''labhairt'' to speak)
|-
|''lills''||hands
|-
|''lilly''||police (Lilly Law)
|-
|''lyles''||legs (prob. from "Lisle stockings")
|-
|''luppers''||fingers (from Yiddish ''lapa'' – paw)
|-
|''mangarie''||food, also ''jarry'' (from Italian ''mangiare'' or Lingua Franca ''mangiaria'')
|-
|''manky''||worthless, dirty (from Italian ''mancare'' – "to be lacking")<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/manky|title=Manky|website=Collins English Dictionary|access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref>
|-
|''martinis''||hands
|-
|''measures''||money
|-
|''medza''/''medzer''||half (from Italian ''mezzo'')
|-
|''medzered''||divided<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polarimagazine.com/opinion/let-there-be-sparkle/|title=Let There Be Sparkle|website=Polari Magazine|date=10 December 2012|access-date=30 July 2018}}</ref>
|-
|''meese''||plain, ugly (from [[Yiddish]] ''mieskeit'', in turn from Hebrew מָאוּס repulsive, loathsome, despicable, abominable)
|-
|''meshigener''||nutty, crazy, mental (from [[Yiddish]] '[[wikt:meshugge|meshugge]]', in turn from Hebrew מְשֻׁגָּע crazy)
|-
|''meshigener carsey''||church<ref name="The Polari Bible"/>
|-
|''metzas''||money (from Italian ''mezzi'', "means, wherewithal")
|-
|''mince''||walk affectedly
|-
|''mollying''||involved in the act of sex<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2000/dec/10/life1.lifemagazine3|title=The way we live now: Mind your language|first=Beverley|last=D'Silva|date=10 December 2000|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=5 July 2018}}</ref>
|-
|''mogue''||deceive
|-
|''munge''||darkness
|-
|''[[#Naff|naff]]''||awful, dull, hetero
|-
|''nana''||evil
|-
|''nanti''||not, no, none (from Italian, ''niente'')
|-
|''national handbag''||dole, welfare, government financial assistance
|-
|''nishta''||nothing<ref name="liverpoolmuseums.org.uk"/> from yiddish nishto נישטא meaning nothing
|-
|''ogle''||look admiringly
|-
|''ogles''||eyes
|-
|''oglefakes''||glasses
|-
|''omi''||man (from Romance)
|-
|''omi-palone''||effeminate man, or homosexual
|-
|''onk''||nose (cf "conk")
|-
|''orbs''||eyes
|-
|''orderly daughters''||police
|-
|''oven''||mouth (nanti pots in the oven = no teeth in the mouth)
|-
|''palare'' / ''polari pipe''||telephone ("talk pipe")
|-
|''palliass''||back
|-
|''park,'' ''parker''||give
|-
|''plate''||feet (Cockney rhyming slang "plates of meat"); to fellate
|-
|''palone''||woman (Italian ''paglione'' – "straw mattress"; cf. old Cant ''hay-bag'' – "woman"); also spelled "polony" in [[Graham Greene]]'s 1938 novel ''[[Brighton Rock (novel)|Brighton Rock]]''
|-
|''palone-omi''||lesbian
|-
|''pots''||teeth
|-
|''quongs''||testicles
|-
|''reef'' ||touch
|-
|''remould''||sex change
|-
|''rozzer''||policeman<ref name=guardian/>
|-
|''riah'' / ''riha''||hair (backslang)
|-
|''riah zhoosher''||hairdresser
|-
|''[[Trade (gay slang)#Rough trade|rough trade]]''||a working class or blue collar sex partner or potential sex partner; a tough, thuggish or potentially violent sex partner
|-
|''scarper''||to run off (from Italian ''scappare'', to escape or run away or from rhyming slang Scapa Flow, to go)
|-
|''scharda''||shame (from German ''schade'', "a shame" or "a pity")
|-
|''schlumph''||drink
|-
|''schmutter''||apparel<ref name="Polari Bible">{{cite web|url=http://www.josephrichardson.tv/polari-bible.html|title=Polari Bible|website=josephrichardson.tv/home.html|access-date=1 August 2018}}</ref> from Yiddish shmatte שמאטע meaning rag
|-
|''schooner''||bottle
|-
|''scotch''||leg (scotch egg=leg)
|-
|''screech''||mouth, speak
|-
|''screeve''||write<ref name="Polari Bible"/> (either from Irish ''scríobh''/Scottish Gaelic ''sgrìobh'', Scots ''scrieve'' to write or italian 'scrivere' meaning to write)
|-
|''sharpy''||policeman (from&nbsp;– charpering omi)
|-
|''sharpy polone''||policewoman
|-
|''shush''||steal (from client)
|-
|''shush bag''||hold-all
|-
|''shyker'' / ''shyckle''||wig (mutation of the Yiddish ''[[sheitel]]'')
|-
|''slap''||makeup
|-
|''so''||homosexual (e.g. "Is he 'so'?") <!-- from nineteenth century slang? -->
|-
|''stimps''||legs
|-
|''stimpcovers''||stockings, hosiery
|-
|''strides''||trousers
|-
|''strillers''||piano
|-
|''switch''||wig
|-
| ''TBH'' (''to be had'')||prospective sexual conquest
|-
|''thews''||thighs
|-
|''tober''||road (a [[Shelta]] word, Irish ''bóthar''); temporary site for a circus, carnival
|-
|''[[Tod Sloan (jockey)#Rhyming slang|todd (Sloan)]]'' or ''tod''||alone
|-
|''tootsie trade''||sex between two passive homosexuals (as in: 'I don't do tootsie trade')
|-
|''[[Trade (Homosexual)|trade]]''||sex, sex-partner, potential sex-partner
|-
|''[[Troll (gay)|troll]]''||to walk about (esp. looking for trade)
|-
|''vada'' / ''varder''||to see (from Italian dialect ''vardare'' = ''guardare'' – look at)
vardered – vardering
|-
|''vera'' (''lynn'')||gin
|-
|''vogue''||cigarette (from Lingua Franca ''fogus'' – "fire, smoke")
|-
|''vogueress''||female smoker
|-
|''wallop''||dance<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/polari.htm|title=World Wide Words: How bona to vada your eek!|website=World Wide Words|access-date=5 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907173251/http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/polari.htm|archive-date=7 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|''willets''||breasts
|-
| ''yeute''||no, none
|-
|''yews''||(from French "yeux") eyes
|-
|''zhoosh''||style hair, tart up, mince<br>(cf. Romani ''zhouzho'' – "clean, neat")
zhoosh our riah – style our hair
|-
|''zhooshy''||showy
|}

===Usage examples===
''Omies and palones of the [[jury]], vada well at the eek of the poor ome who stands before you, his lallies trembling.'' – taken from "Bona Law", one of the [[Julian and Sandy]] sketches from ''[[Round The Horne]]'', written by [[Barry Took]] and [[Marty Feldman]]

:Translation: "Men and women of the jury, look well at the face of the poor man who stands before you, his legs trembling."

''So bona to vada...oh you! Your lovely eek and your lovely riah.'' – taken from "Piccadilly Palare", a song by [[Morrissey]]

:Translation: "So good to see...oh you! Your lovely face and your lovely hair."

''As feely ommes...we would zhoosh our riah, powder our eeks, climb into our bona new drag, don our batts and troll off to some bona bijou bar. In the bar we would stand around with our sisters, vada the bona cartes on the butch omme ajax who, if we fluttered our ogle riahs at him sweetly, might just troll over to offer a light for the unlit vogue clenched between our teeth.'' – taken from ''Parallel Lives'', the memoirs of renowned gay journalist [[Peter Burton (writer)|Peter Burton]]

:Translation: "As young men...we would style our hair, powder our faces, climb into our great new clothes, don our shoes and wander/walk off to some great little bar. In the bar we would stand around with our gay companions, look at the great genitals on the butch man nearby who, if we fluttered our eyelashes at him sweetly, might just wander/walk over to offer a light for the unlit [[cigarette]] clenched between our teeth."

In the ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'' episode "The Old Order Changes", Captain Peacock asks Mr Humphries to get "some strides for the omi with the naff riah" (i.e., trousers for the fellow with the unstylish hair).<ref>{{cite episode|title=The Old Order Changes|series=Are You Being Served?|date=18 March 1977}}</ref>