Polari: a slang used in the UK during the mid-20th century by gay men.

For gay men in the UK during the mid-20th century, being gay was a crime. That meant finding each other was dangerous, because if the wrong person found out about you, you could be arrested.

Finding each other was made easier via coded language. Polari, the mostly forgotten dialect, features several terms I’m sure you recognize — camp and drag are perhaps the best-known.

Atlas Obscura wrote about Polari and here’s a short film spoken in the dialect:

 

For discussion:

  • How do you think Polari vocabulary was spread or shared?
  • How do you think gay men kept Polari secret?
  • What words do you recognize or could guess the meanings of in Polari vocabulary?
  • Does Polari have modern day counterparts in other parts of the world?

(I’m a physics teacher, so writing discussion questions isn’t my strength. Fellow teachers, help me out by suggesting others in the comments?)