Fantabulosa

I was watching a program the other night called Balderdash and Piffle, relating to the origin of words and phrases, their meanings and their definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary. The BBC has been attempting to enlist the help of the public to, for example, get the earliest meanings for terms such as "Pear Shaped" and "Pass The Parcel". The program was rather dull and even the minxy feline presenter was not attractive enough to keep my attention. Apart from one section...

"That charpering omi is a dish! Troll over and vada his basket for me!"

Polari is the name used to describe British gay slang from the 50's and 60's when the subject or practice of being homosexual was rather frowned upon. In an effort to keep the movement underground, a secret language was developed and used by the gay community so you could converse in public about the size of "that bloke at the bar's todger" without getting arrested, beaten up or both. Polari, or pallare, is also used to refer to the internal slang languages used by other groups such as sailors, gypsies, circus folk and vagrants. So possibly "can you spare 10p for a cuppa tea guv" could have some other sinister hidden message the public have not yet grasped. Kenneth Williams, a popular gay actor and comedian in the 60's (now deceased) has been partially blamed for destroying the now seldom used language by using it frequently as part of a comedy radio show, Round The Horne. The show was listened to by millions of the British public and such mass exposure to the terms ensured that no-one was safe using them any longer. Also, the eventual acceptance of the homosexual communities ensured that Polari was no longer needed - as that bloke at the bar now knew his enemy and could beat you up even if you weren't talking about his todger anyway! A list of common words, meanings and a brief history of Polari can be found here. And just for the record. I am not an omi-palone, a meese or a riah shusher! I was just intrigued by this stuff I had never heard of before! Technorati Tags: polari, pallare, language, slang, gay, homosexual, kenneth williams, round the horne, OED, BBC