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sekritomgThis is a glossary of some Polari terms that appear in You Only Live Twice, itself a prequel to 'Go to the Mirror!' and The Rectum is a Tomb. Throughout the fic, Stan, Kyle, and many men they interact with lace their speech with bits of Polari, a vocabulary used by gay men in Britain primarily in the early 20th century until the 1960s. A good dictionary of Polari is Paul Baker's Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang. The best reference work is his Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men, which gives Polari excellent social and cultural context.
Despite the title of Baker's book, Polari is not really a language; it is more useful to think of it as a vocabulary set, as it follows English grammar and syntax, usually only replacing sexually charged words with Polari alternatives. It was not spoken by all gay men and not all gay men had the same exact knowledge of Polari; it depended very much on social circles. By the time Kyle and Stan pick some up in the mid-1960s Polari is on its last legs; in the 1970s it almost vanished. There are three main uses for Polari:
As homosexuality became increasingly mainstream, Polari was no longer useful. Moreover, its highly gendered, sexist, and racist character was considered unproductive for the burgeoning gay rights movement. Beyond that, Polari represented a kind of hiding, and as coming out became more possible and more practiced, Polari was seen as too antiquated.
For Kyle and Stan, the use of Polari is mostly about wanting to fit in. They only know bits of it and couldn't carry on a conversation with more than what's used in the story. They are using it because they want to use it. By the time the 1980s roll around they are no longer using it because it's no longer relevant for them.
If you find a word in the fic and want to know what it means, please let me know and I'll add it here.
A bit of rough. Typically tough, strong, low-class men; shorthand for ‘rough trade.’ Garrison says Kyle is into this because Kyle has been seeing Eric, who’s very large, very crass, and treats Kyle very badly. Later, in RIAT, Kyle has a brief affair with Christophe, who is also rough trade, albeit in a somewhat different way.
Ajax. Next to.
Alamo. Attractive. Used as an adjective or an exclamation. Comes from LMO, for “lick me out.”
Aris. Ass. Not as widely used as “dish.”
Betty bracelets. The police.
Bevvy, bevvying. A drink or to drink; drinking.
Bona. Good. Related: ”Bona charvering.” “[That was a] good fuck.” Stan says this to Token to try to figure out if Token knows Polari, since these are pretty common words. (Token doesn’t know Polari.)
Camping. Specifically the condition or action of being camp. Often used to sleuth out if someone is safe to seduce; if he knows Polari he is probably TBH. (See below.) You might ask someone if he likes to camp or likes to go camping; despite Sontag’s famous essay on camp style being published in 1964, this term was not really in the mainstream yet by 1967. It’s the code phrase at the Duke of Buckingham and is a shorthand way of saying “I’m gay,” which gets you into the pub. By the 1980s this is out of use.
Cart. Penis.
Charvering. Fucking, anal sex.
Charpering. Looking, searching.
Color of his eyes. Size of a man’s dick. Works in Polari because it makes no literal sense, i.e. “You have eight-inch eyes” – wouldn’t work. Someone says to Stan that he has “big, blue eyes” to imply that Stan has a big dick. But it works literally as well.
Cottage/cottaging, In Britain there are public restrooms, often in parks, that literally look like cottages. A cottage is one of these restrooms; when it’s used in gay context it typically means a place where gay men have sex. Cottaging is the act of cruising at or hooking up at a cottage. This is one of few Polari words that is retained when homosexuality becomes legalized in 1967, partly because it remains very illegal to have gay sex in public. In RIAT Stan likes to cottage; Kyle does not and is bitchy about it, though he has public and/or anonymous sex in capacities other than this specific one, so he is being both a bit technical and a bit unfair to Stan. The Tudor structure in the middle of Soho Square is not a cottage; Kyle is wrong about that.
Dinges. Black men.
Dish. Someone’s ass, in general or their butthole specifically.
Duchess. An old queen.
Eke. Face. See also: “Full eke.”
Esong. Nose.
Full eke. A full face of makeup.
HP. Short for “homie-paloney,” which means “man-woman,” i.e. an effeminate gay man.
“I’ve got your number”/got his number. “I know you’re gay.”
”Make me her wife.” Sleep with. Could fall anywhere on the spectrum of sincere to ironic; Kyle is being quite ironic.
”Nanti the kosher homie.” “Forget that Jewish boy.”
Omee. A man or boy.
Sea queen. A sailor. The merchant marine was especially gay.
So/”he’s so.” He’s gay.
TBH/NTBH. “To be had” or “not to be had,” i.e., it is possible or not possible to have sex with a person. Subjective and based on context; Kyle tells Stan he can’t be jealous of Eric because Stan is the one who told Kyle that Eric is “TBH,” i.e., up for gay sex. Craig is gay but is NTBH; Kyle, who wants to have sex with Craig, might say it’s because Craig doesn’t have sex with men, while Stan would say Craig is NTBH because Craig is so off-putting Stan wouldn’t have sex with him were it an option.
Tearoom. Anywhere gay men tend to congregate to cruise and have sex; often cottages, but not always.
Vada. Look.
Despite the title of Baker's book, Polari is not really a language; it is more useful to think of it as a vocabulary set, as it follows English grammar and syntax, usually only replacing sexually charged words with Polari alternatives. It was not spoken by all gay men and not all gay men had the same exact knowledge of Polari; it depended very much on social circles. By the time Kyle and Stan pick some up in the mid-1960s Polari is on its last legs; in the 1970s it almost vanished. There are three main uses for Polari:
- Identity construction, i.e. marking oneself as a user of Polari
- Identification, i.e. determining if other men are users of Polari
- Camouflage, i.e. making it possible to discuss men, sex, and sex with men in the presence of those who might be hostile to men who have sex with men
As homosexuality became increasingly mainstream, Polari was no longer useful. Moreover, its highly gendered, sexist, and racist character was considered unproductive for the burgeoning gay rights movement. Beyond that, Polari represented a kind of hiding, and as coming out became more possible and more practiced, Polari was seen as too antiquated.
For Kyle and Stan, the use of Polari is mostly about wanting to fit in. They only know bits of it and couldn't carry on a conversation with more than what's used in the story. They are using it because they want to use it. By the time the 1980s roll around they are no longer using it because it's no longer relevant for them.
If you find a word in the fic and want to know what it means, please let me know and I'll add it here.
A bit of rough. Typically tough, strong, low-class men; shorthand for ‘rough trade.’ Garrison says Kyle is into this because Kyle has been seeing Eric, who’s very large, very crass, and treats Kyle very badly. Later, in RIAT, Kyle has a brief affair with Christophe, who is also rough trade, albeit in a somewhat different way.
Ajax. Next to.
Alamo. Attractive. Used as an adjective or an exclamation. Comes from LMO, for “lick me out.”
Aris. Ass. Not as widely used as “dish.”
Betty bracelets. The police.
Bevvy, bevvying. A drink or to drink; drinking.
Bona. Good. Related: ”Bona charvering.” “[That was a] good fuck.” Stan says this to Token to try to figure out if Token knows Polari, since these are pretty common words. (Token doesn’t know Polari.)
Camping. Specifically the condition or action of being camp. Often used to sleuth out if someone is safe to seduce; if he knows Polari he is probably TBH. (See below.) You might ask someone if he likes to camp or likes to go camping; despite Sontag’s famous essay on camp style being published in 1964, this term was not really in the mainstream yet by 1967. It’s the code phrase at the Duke of Buckingham and is a shorthand way of saying “I’m gay,” which gets you into the pub. By the 1980s this is out of use.
Cart. Penis.
Charvering. Fucking, anal sex.
Charpering. Looking, searching.
Color of his eyes. Size of a man’s dick. Works in Polari because it makes no literal sense, i.e. “You have eight-inch eyes” – wouldn’t work. Someone says to Stan that he has “big, blue eyes” to imply that Stan has a big dick. But it works literally as well.
Cottage/cottaging, In Britain there are public restrooms, often in parks, that literally look like cottages. A cottage is one of these restrooms; when it’s used in gay context it typically means a place where gay men have sex. Cottaging is the act of cruising at or hooking up at a cottage. This is one of few Polari words that is retained when homosexuality becomes legalized in 1967, partly because it remains very illegal to have gay sex in public. In RIAT Stan likes to cottage; Kyle does not and is bitchy about it, though he has public and/or anonymous sex in capacities other than this specific one, so he is being both a bit technical and a bit unfair to Stan. The Tudor structure in the middle of Soho Square is not a cottage; Kyle is wrong about that.
Dinges. Black men.
Dish. Someone’s ass, in general or their butthole specifically.
Duchess. An old queen.
Eke. Face. See also: “Full eke.”
Esong. Nose.
Full eke. A full face of makeup.
HP. Short for “homie-paloney,” which means “man-woman,” i.e. an effeminate gay man.
“I’ve got your number”/got his number. “I know you’re gay.”
”Make me her wife.” Sleep with. Could fall anywhere on the spectrum of sincere to ironic; Kyle is being quite ironic.
”Nanti the kosher homie.” “Forget that Jewish boy.”
Omee. A man or boy.
Sea queen. A sailor. The merchant marine was especially gay.
So/”he’s so.” He’s gay.
TBH/NTBH. “To be had” or “not to be had,” i.e., it is possible or not possible to have sex with a person. Subjective and based on context; Kyle tells Stan he can’t be jealous of Eric because Stan is the one who told Kyle that Eric is “TBH,” i.e., up for gay sex. Craig is gay but is NTBH; Kyle, who wants to have sex with Craig, might say it’s because Craig doesn’t have sex with men, while Stan would say Craig is NTBH because Craig is so off-putting Stan wouldn’t have sex with him were it an option.
Tearoom. Anywhere gay men tend to congregate to cruise and have sex; often cottages, but not always.
Vada. Look.
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Date: 2014-08-12 13:53 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-04 01:23 (UTC)