Fantabulosa A Dictionary Of Polari And Gay Slang

Paul Baker download

https://ebookbell.com/product/fantabulosa-a-dictionary-of-polari-
and-gay-slang-paul-baker-5906740

Explore and download more ebooks at ebookbell.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

Morris Kight Humanist Liberationist Fantabulist A Story Of Gay Rights

And Gay Wrongs Mary Ann Cherry

https://ebookbell.com/product/morris-kight-humanist-liberationist-
fantabulist-a-story-of-gay-rights-and-gay-wrongs-mary-ann-
cherry-48995080

Mr Lemoncellos Fantabulous Finale Chris Grabenstein

https://ebookbell.com/product/mr-lemoncellos-fantabulous-finale-chris-
grabenstein-201350988
 FANTABULOSA
A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang

PAUL BAKER
Continuum
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London, SEl 7NX
370 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017-6503
wu1w.continuumbooks.con1

First published 2002

© Paul Baker 2002

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 0-8264-5961-7

Typeset by SetSystems Ltd, Saffron Walden, Essex

Printed and bound in Great Britain by
MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall
 CONTENTS

Acknowledgements Vl

Preface vii

Introduction to the Dictionary of Polari 1

Dictionary of Polari 9

Introduction to the Dictionary of Gay Slang 63

Dictionary of Gay Slang 69

References 217
Index 220
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Barry Took and Marty Feldman, award winning writers of
the enduringly successful BBC radio programme, Round
The Horne, were initiators of the use of this language in
broadcasting, which was voiced by their creations, Julian
and Sandy.
Eric Barela, Damien Barr, Lawrence Brennan, R. Chloupek,
Joseph E. Cribb, John Galilee, Matt Lippiatt, Tony McEnery,
David Raven, Rebecca Scott, Julian Smalley and Jay
Yesitsme. The Natural Bear Classification System is repro-
duced with kind permission from Bob Donahue and Jeff
Stoner.
The Polari dictionary is adapted from Polari: The Lost
Language of Gay Men, by the same author, published by
Routledge.
 PREFACE
Welcome to this Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang - a
glossary of common (and little-known) words and phrases
used by gay men and lesbians. Two of the main themes
that run across this dictionary are humour and sex, with
many of the words showing an ironic, playful attitude
towards sexuality, often inspired by the tradition of camp.
As well as being funny, gay slang is often subversive,
assigning bold new meanings to words that already exist,
tackling taboos and laughing in the face of adversity. In
terms of academic interest, gay slang can tell us something
about the subcultures that have created the words, their
preoccupations and the ways that they organize their
experiences. In defining concepts that exist outside of the
heterosexual remit, gay slang can sometimes be shocking
to the uninitiated, frequently comical, but rarely boring.
Slang evolves rapidly - words appear, become popular for
a while and are then replaced by new ones just as quickly.
One of the aims of this dictionary is to chart as many of
these words as possible, before they are forgotten.
The book is divided into two sections, the second covers
the more general gay slang used in English-speaking
countries, while the first part is concerned with Polari - a
language variety used by gay men and lesbians in the UK
over the past hundred years. Some speakers were so adept
at talking in Polari that it sometimes resembled a language
in itself rather than a vocabulary. The line between Polari
and 'general' gay slang is rather blurred in the cases of
some words (many Polari speakers used both forms) and
where in doubt I've referred readers to additional entries
in different sections of the book.
How were these words collected? For the past six years
I made a nuisance of myself by asking gay men and
lesbians to tell me their favourite slang words and phrases.
 viii PREFACE

The internet also yielded an abundance of terms - and I

spent many an evening lurking on some of the more
specialist chat-rooms. Other words came from television
and film - Will and Grace, The Graham Norton Show and The
Broken Hearts Club being particularly useful sources. I've
talked to gay sailors, drag queens, hustlers and up-and-
coming porn models in my search for words - being a
lexicographer does have some perks. While most of the
words in the dictionary have come from the UK and the
USA, a few are more specific to Canada, Australia and South
Africa (which has its own form of gay slang called Gayle 1 ).
One reason that slang is so popular is that people tend
to process and remember slang words better than literal
uses of the same words. 2 Slang, being non-standard, gives
its users a feeling of exclusivity and secretiveness; as old
slang terms are discovered by the media and then relayed
to the mainstream, new words must continuously be
invented in order to keep ahead of the masses. Slang, in
other words, has a lot in common with fashion.
Slang is also creative, and as well as coining a new
concept or a new word for an existing concept, it allows
the user to demonstrate this creativity. Instead of referring
to a man who derives gratification from watching other
people as a voyeur, one could call him a peek freak, reveal-
ing that a little bit of extra effort went into the creation of
the term, in order to make the words rhyme. As a group,
gay men are often stereotypically associated with areas
where creativity is required (the performing arts, the visual
arts and the decorative arts) so their linguistic creativity is
not surprising.
Gay slang is full of contradictions - it can be a form of
aggression or one-upmanship, revealing the user to be
quick-witted and giving him or her membership status in
the subculture. A single word of gay slang can include

1
Ken Cage is currently writing a book on Gayle.
2
Gibbs and Nagaoka (1985).
 PREFACE ix

some people and exclude others. It may tell us about the

person under discussion, but it tells us a lot more about
the person who uses the slang. It can be witty, catty or
scatological. It can protect the innocent who don't under-
stand the meaning of the word, or exploit them by with-
holding information. Gay slang can simplify the world by
reducing it to stereotypes or it can enable us to address its
complexity by creating subtle distinctions between related
concepts.
Slang contains elements that can be interpreted as
humorous or child-like: punning, repetition and sing-song
rhyming are sometimes redolent of playground jokes or
nursery rhymes. Many slang words are created via tried-
and-tested formulae. Rhyming phrases such as gay spray
and horny porny are popular because they are easy to
remember, and with a large number of slang items in the
lexicon of the gay subculture, it is likely that rhymes are
going to stick in people's heads.
While rhymes are one of the most common forms found
in gay slang, there are many others; pararhymes (flip-flop),
repetitions <fifty-fifty, yoyo) and blends, which combine the
meanings or sounds from two words together (glamazon,
gymbot, homovestite, quaggot). Alliterations are phrases
which begin with the same letter of the alphabet: happy
hips, lipstick lesbian, meat market; while consonances contain
the repetition towards the end of each word in the phrase:
lily of the valley, gender butcher. Assonances employ a rep-
etition of the central vowel sound: lesbian bed death, play
space, pushy sub, fuck buddy; and reverse rhymes have an
identical initial consonant and vowel sound: muscle muffin,
yum-yuk.
Another popular method of creating slang terms
involves truncating the word to a single syllable (tats,
tache), or by using an abbreviation format (ALAWP, APS,
JO, MMMB). The success of such forms of slang can be
partly explained by Zipf's Law which states that the
shorter a word or phrase, the more likely it is to be found
x PREFACE

in verbal discourse. Short items are easier to remember

than long items, and the process of chunking, by reducing
longer items to memorable chunks allows them to be
retained more easily in memory. Common phrases can be
abbreviated to their initials and are easier to say or type.
Importantly, abbreviations can save money as well as time
- many magazines calculate the price of placing a personal
ad by the number of words in the advert - it is cheaper to
write 'VWE GWM with GSOH' than 'very well endowed
gay white male with good sense of humour'.
A further aspect of using mechanical formations in slang
creation is to exclude and confuse outsiders. This is per-
haps best demonstrated by the use of abbreviation and
acronyms. An outsider, hearing TBH, LDU or MOMD
would find it difficult to decipher their meanings (To Be
Had, Leather Denim Uniform and Man Of My Dreams). As
many of these abbreviations are sexual in nature, they give
the speakers protection, allowing them to talk privately in
public situations. The different ways of creating slang
words - rhyming, abbreviating, alliterating, and so on help
us to recognize a new word as slang. If we already know
fag hag, nadbag, bean-queen, and dikes on spikes, we will more
readily be able to categorize boy toy as slang when we hear
it for the first time, even if we are unsure of its meaning.
Metaphor is another way in which slang operates. Met-
aphors are not restricted to gay slang per se; for example,
heterosexual men sometimes refer to unattractive women
with animal metaphors: dogs, mooses, horses etc., while
attractive women are compared to food: honey, sugar, peach.
A slang metaphor may tell us something about the person
who is using the word - for example the phrase a dirty
weekend implies an inverse association between sex and
cleanliness. However, there are a number of metaphors
which tend to be associated with gay slang, and these help
us to understand how gay men and lesbians view their
subculture, themselves and each other.
A proportion of gay male slang words contain female
 PREFACE xi

metaphors, a phenomenon with a long historical tradition.

The association of gay men with effeminacy still lingers
on, suffused with ambivalence in gay subcultures; it can
be used as an insult, so an unattractive friend is called
Miss Congeniality, while a judgemental one is Judge Judy.
However, other feminizing terms are kinder, demonstrat-
ing affectionate relationships - a sister is a close friend,
while a mother is a gay mentor. Masculine slang words on
the other hand are used to refer to sex: ergo the phrase
who's your daddy? Family metaphors can also be looked
upon as imposing a system of hierarchical values upon
gay subculture, whereby terms such as daddy and mother
indicate power, words like son and baby butch indicate
youth and other terms such as auntie or grandmother indicate
age without power.
Other common gay metaphors involve food (jam-pot,
alley apple, beefcake, fish and chips), animals (bear, bitch, bull
dyke, bunny fuck, pussy, queen bee), religion (born again virgin,
having church, hell-sparking the pronoun), colours (brown job,
black hole, green queen, pink pound), clothing (clutch your
pearls, flannel shirt dyke, glass closet), the cinema (friend of
Dorothy, guest star, final g~rl, zsa-zsa) and royalty (dish queen,
drag queen, dethroned, the monarchy).
The choice of particulat types of metaphor is not random
- some metaphors such as those to do with royalty and
the cinema recast the users in more powerful and glamor-
ous spheres. Royalty metaphors often connote social status
while the cinema metaphor is a form of adult story telling:
you and your friends become the occupants of an exciting
alternative world where everyone else is merely an extra
or a guest star. Food and animal metaphors are often
strongly related to sex, as is religion - sex can be explicitly
linked to worship in gay slang, while clothing and colour
metaphors hark back to the older stereotype of the creative,
fashion-conscious queen.
So what sort of things do gay men and lesbians have
slang words for? One of the most common categories are
xii PREFACE

words for different types of people, specifically people

who are likely to be encountered within that culture -
people are classified according to their age, attractiveness,
specific sexual preferences, their sexual availability and
how masculine or feminine they are. There are also words
for particular places - clubs, cruising grounds, and the
home as well as words for outsiders - especially the police,
or those who exist on the limits of the subculture - married
men, closet cases and straight lads who might be interested
given the right circumstances. There are words for specific
sexual practices and scenes, and words for parts of the
body (especially those that receive a lot of attention during
sex). Some terms describe political activism and forms of
oppression, while others have been created by the media
or by academia.
Slang is one of the most interesting and innovative
forms of language use, and this is especially true of gay
slang. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I
enjoyed researching and writing it. And if you learn some-
thing new, laugh or raise an eyebrow in the process, then
my work is done.
 INTRODUCTION TO THE
DICTIONARY OF POLARI
'Oh vada well the omee-palone ajax who just trolled in -
her with the cod lally-drags and the naff riah, dear. She's
with the trade your mother charvaed yesterday. Some
omees have nanti taste!'

Welcome to a private drinking club in London, England,

circa 1955. Men with neatly brushed hair exchange longing
looks over their gin and tonics and all eyes dart to the
door every time it opens. If you listen carefully, you may
hear one of the more camp things exclaim something in
Polari - a secret gay vocabulary which enabled gay men
and lesbians of the time to indulge in high-octane gossip,
bitchiness and cruising, the intensity of which is unlikely
to be seen again. While many guys who formed Britain's
then gay subculture knew a few words of Polari, it tended
to be used most of all by the fiercely camp working-class
queens. The ones with names like Fishy Francis and
Diamond Lil, who put powder on their cheeks and wore
colourful, feminine scarves. They used it with such inven-
tiveness, complexity and frequency that for some it actu-
ally began to resemble a real language. Although the more
masculine, low-key types may have thrown in a few words
of Polari in order to covertly reveal their sexuality to
someone they suspected might be 'family', they tended to
eschew it. Polari was synonymous with the camp queen.
However, fifty years on Polari is practically unknown to
gay guys under the age of thirty, and even the surviving
older speakers tend to have forgotten many of the words.
In the UK Polari has become to gay men what Latin is to
Catholics - a dead language.
Polari (also spelt Palari or Palare) has links to several
 2 INTRODUCTION TO THE DICTIONARY OF POLARI

older slang vocabularies such as Thieves Cant dating back

at least to the seventeenth century. It's impossible to
pinpoint an exact date when it came into existence. It most
likely arose from a type of nineteenth century slang called
Parlyaree which was used by fairground and circus people
as well as prostitutes, beggars and buskers. These were
stigmatized or travelling groups of people who were set
apart from the rest of society and had subsequently devel-
oped ways of communicating with each other for protec-
tion and secrecy. Many of the travelling people worked all
over Europe, and as a result a fair number of the old
Parlyaree words resemble Italian. The music halls of the
nineteenth century eventually replaced these wandering
entertainers, and out of music halls developed the tradition
of the theatre. Parlyaree was gradually modified into what
became Polari, being picked up by gay actors, dancers and
chorus boys - who helped to introduce it into London's
gay scene.
But there were lots of other influences - the East End of
London had its own slang based around rhyming phrases,
(e.g., plates (of meat): feet). There also existed the less well-
known back-slang: the practice of saying a word as if it's
spelt backwards (riah: hair, ecaf face). The East End was
full of vibrant communities and so we find bits of Yiddish
(schwartzer: black man, schnozzle: nose) coming into Polari
via the Jewish community. The London docks were popu-
lar cruising grounds, and gay men would go there to pick
up sailors, who had their own slang called Lingua Franca.
As a result, elements of this slang also appear in Polari. In
later times the language was used by men who worked as
stewards and waiters on passenger cruise ships in the
Merchant Navy, which have been described as a 'gay
paradise' by some sailors, despite the total ban on homo-
sexuality at the time. Words such as lattie on water and
trade curtain were the result of Polari-speaking sea-farers
who created new terms. As well as Italian and Yiddish,
French and German words, to a lesser extent, gradually
 INTRODUCTION TO THE DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 3

found their way into Polari, possibly because they made

the speaker appear sophisticated and well-travelled -
important qualities when trying to impress the latest bit of
trade.
Finally, in World War II we can add some American
terms (butch, cruise) as gay men befriended and entertained
homesick American Gls. Then throw in a few words
borrowed from 1960s drug culture (doobs: drugs, randy
comedown: a desire for sex after taking drugs). The result is
a complex, constantly changing form of language which
appears slightly different to whoever uses it.
In the UK Polari flourished in the repressive 1950s, where
the regulation of post-war sexual morality was viewed as a
priority, and prosecutions against gay men reached record
levels. Under these unpleasant conditions, gay men were
subjected to a variety of horrors. As well as facing blackmail
and violence from unfriendly members of the public, they
also had the threat of public exposure and humiliation,
imprisonment, electroshock treatment, or being given hor-
mones that would make them grow breasts. It seemed that
the medical and legal professions were obsessed with trying
to find newer and sicker ways to punish gay men through-
out the 1950s. Because being openly homosexual was
dangerous, the need for a language that protected gay men,
and at the same time acted as a kind of 'gaydar' by allowing
them to recognize others, was extremely useful.
By the 1960s, the political situation had begun to change.
Polari was used less to cautiously 'out' yourself, and more
for chatting with friends. Its vocabulary - full of words to
do with clothing (lally-drags: trousers, ogle-fakes: spectacles),
parts of the body (thews: muscles, luppers: fingers) and
evaluative adjectives (bona: good, cod: bad), reflects what it
was most often used for - gossiping about potential sexual
partners with friends, while the target was in earshot.
'Vada that bona omee ajax - the one with nanti riah!'
translates to 'Look at that nice man over there - the one
with no hair!' Use it in the club, or on the tube - you could
 4 INTRODUCTION TO THE DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

spill all of the details about what you got up to last night,
without anyone being the wiser.
In the mid to late 1960s a British radio show called
Round The Horne showcased a pair of screamingly camp
comedy characters called Julian and Sandy - two out-of-
work actors who were unapologetically, cheerfully gay.
The programme went out to a 'family' audience on Sunday
afternoons and rather than causing homophobes to choke
on their lunches, it was quickly established as the most
popular (award-winning) comedy show in the country,
attracting about 9 million listeners a week.
And every week, thanks to Polari, Jules and Sand made
a mockery of the BBC's censors. This was mainly due to
their use of Polari and innuendo to disguise much of what
they were talking about. When Sandy enthused about
some man's bulging !allies or complained about the rough
trade he'd been having lately, it was done in a subtle,
clever way that escaped the attention of the censors and
'Disgusted from Tunbridge Wells'. In one episode, they
are domestic helps and have been shown into a kitchen
where they are expected to get to work. 'I can't work in
here,' complains Julian. 'All the dishes are dirty!' 'Ooh
speak for yourself, ducky!' retorts Sandy. This is a clever
triple innuendo. The audience would probably get the use
of the word dish as an attractive young man, as in 'isn't he
dishy?', but well-versed Polari speakers also know that
dish means anus, which would afford them an extra special
laugh.
Julian and Sandy were subversive in other ways too. At
a time when many of the other fictional representations of
gay men and lesbians in the media ended up by dying in
the final scene, this cheerfully unapologetic pair of queens
made for a refreshing change. Young gay guys living in
the middle of nowhere heard Julian and Sandy and were
given hope - they were no longer alone.
However, in the 1970s, Polari started to fade from
people's memories. Julian and Sandy had represented a
 INTRODUCTION TO THE DICTION ARY OF PO LARI 5

swan-song of sorts in any case. In 1967 (the same year

that Round the Horne was at its peak, winning the award
for best comedy radio programme), the legal situation
for the average gay man was improved with the imple-
mentation of the Wolfenden Report's recommendations
of ten years earlier. Homosexuality was partially decrimin-
alized (although there were still a variety of ways that
men could be prosecuted for having gay sex), and as a
result, there was less of a need for a secret language. In
addition to that, Julian and Sandy gave Polari a kind of
doomed respectability - they had inadvertently blurted
out the secret via the radio every week. What was the
point of using Polari when Aunt Beryl listened to Round
The Horne and was able to get the gist of what you were
saying?
And ultimately, there were political reasons for ditching
Polari - it was associated with oppression, and the early
Gay Liberationists wanted to put all of that behind them.
It was easy to criticize Polari as being sexist, racist and
brimming over with internalized homophobia. Gay maga-
zines of the early 1970s are quick to cast Polari as keeping
gay men in a ghetto. One writer warns that gay culture is
going to become consumed by a 'language of body parts
and fucking'. This was the era when John Inman, who
played camp Mr Humphries in the British sitcom Are You
Being Served?, was picketed outside Brighton's Dome Hall
by gay men for 'contributing to the television distortion of
the image of homosexuals'. Gay men wanted a new image
in order to counter decades of 'sissy jibes'. Anything
connected to camp was eschewed.
So by the beginning of the 1980s, Polari had all but
vanished from the UK gay scene, and in place of the fey
Polari speakers were American influences - butch was in,
and the Marlboro Man look - muscles, leather, denim,
facial hair, uniforms, boots etc., became fashionable. The
clone look was discovered, and with minor modifications
still exists today. Suddenly going to the gym became a
 6 INTRODUCTION TO THE DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

popular pastime and the gay scene was in danger of

becoming populated with butch Marys who took their
masculinity and muscle tone ever so seriously. Butch gay
men aren't supposed to speak Polari - instead they grunt
and show you a coloured handkerchief so that you know
what they're into.
However, as the 1990s progressed, the situation changed
again. With more people becoming relaxed about sexual-
ity, Polari has recently undergone a revival of interest. It's
now possible to view it as part of gay heritage - a weapon
that was used to fight oppression, and something that gay
men can be proud of again. Camp is no longer viewed as
apolitical - for example, the London branch of the Sisters
of Perpetual Indulgence use 'High Polari' in their bless-
ings, sermons and canonizations - adding a bit of religious
mystique whilst also acknowledging gay history within
their ceremonies. In some London hotspots you'll overhear
Klub Polari being spoken, a mix of Techno/Indie Club
slang with bits of East London and Asian dialects thrown
in. There's also been academic interest in the language -
Polari is now recast as an important aspect of gay social
history as well as being linguistically interesting. That little
bit of historic distance has allowed Polari to be seen under
kinder lighting conditions. And anyone who wants to add
some authentic mid-twentieth century atmosphere in their
film, book or play or pop song about gay men can drop a
few words of Polari into their script for instant credibility
(see Love Is The Devil, The Velvet Goldmine or Morrissey's
Piccadilly Palare for examples). Polari has become a signifier
to represent being British and gay in the 1950s or 1960s in
the same way that platform shoes or a space-hopper
represent the 1970s.
However, Polari still occupies a controversial position in
the hearts of contemporary gay men. In 1999 Boyz maga-
zine ran a telephone debate on Polari over several issues,
unearthing a number of conflicting attitudes about it. Some
callers were quick to dismiss Polari as camp nonsense,
 INTRODUCTION TO THE DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 7

only spoken by unfashionable people who lived 'in the

sticks' (i.e. outside London). Such words are 'neither use-
ful, relevant or reflect the queer society we live in today,'
complained one caller. Others argued that it was harmless
fun, and to ignore Polari is to do an injustice to the men
and women who lived through more oppressive times.
Boyz joined in, labelling Polari as 'evil', with its tongue
placed firmly in its cheek.
It's unlikely that Polari will ever be revived to the extent
that it was used in the 1950s - but that's no shame.
Without realizing it, many of the words that people con-
sider to be 'gay slang' were once part of Polari's lexicon -
chicken, trade, butch, camp, cottage etc. These words, which
are more useful in describing gay experiences because they
don't have heterosexual equivalents, have survived while
other words like nanna: awful, poll: wig, order: go etc., have
fallen into disuse. That's not to say that it can't be fun to
use them occasionally. Speaking a few words of Polari is
hardly going to cause your wrist to go limp. And in any
case, little bits of Polari have even been incorporated into
mainstream slang. For example - the word naff was orig-
inally used as a Polari acronym meaning 'Not Available
For Fucking'. Now it simply refers to something that's
tasteless. Most likely it was overheard by heterosexuals -
'oh don't bother with him, he's naff!', inferred to mean
something bad, and crossed over into mainstream slang,
the new users not realizing that the word was originally
an insult used on them.
So while it's important that a situation should never
arise where gay men and lesbians need to use a secret
language again, we do ourselves no favours by distancing
ourselves completely from Polari. From the initial 1960s
media representations of effeminate, camp queens,
through to the hyper-masculine alternatives created by the
gay subculture in the 1970s, the recent years have seen a
resurgence and a reappraisal of both identities. Distinc-
tions between the two, however, are now more blurred
8 INTRODUCTION TO THE DICTIONARY OF POLARI

than ever. Polari, as a form of camp humour, protection

and attack, is worth remembering - a gay 'language' which
serves as a testament to those who lived through times
very different to our own.
 DICTIONARY OF POLARI
INTRODUCTORY NOTE

It is unlikely that any Polari speaker would have used or

even known all of the words listed in this section. A Polari
word will possess multiple spellings, meanings, origins
and in some cases pronunciations, due to the secretive,
unstandardized, constantly-changing nature of the lexicon.
Where I have made an 'educated guess' as to the origin of
a word or phrase, or have been unsure of the credibility of
the source, I have noted this in the entry with the word
'possible' or 'possibly'.
Each word is presented in the following order, though
not all these categories are covered in every case:
The word, plus alternative spellings. Phonetic pronun-
ciation. Grammatical category. Meaning(s). Etymology.
Other notes. Examples of use. Related words.
See Main Entry refers the reader to an alternative or
fuller definition in the Dictionary of Gay Slang.
As Polari was a spoken language variety first and fore-
most, attempts to write it down have generally been pho-
netic. The following pronunciation guide should be useful
in interpreting the phonetic spelling of each word:

Consonants Vowels

b ball 1: sheep
d draw busy
d3 judge I ship
f fall e let
g give ~ bat
h help a: heart
j yes 0 cod
10 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

k cold kite ;:,: ball

I like tall u bush
m man A shut
n nice u: boot
I) thing 3: bird
p pin ~ colour the
r ring e1 make
s sit a1 bite
J shoot ;)I boy
t to ~u note
tf cheat au crowd
e thing I~ here
0 then e~ there
v vow u~ poor
z zoo
3 measure

NUMBERS

Yz medza
1 una,oney
2 dooey
3 tray
4 quarter
5 chinker
6 say
7 say oney, setter
8 say dooey, otter
9 say tray, nobber
10 daiture
11 long <ledger, lepta
12 kenza
 A
AC/DC /eI si: di: si:/ 1. noun: a couple. 2. adjective:
bisexual.

acting dickey /rektil) d1ki/ noun: temporary work.

active /rekt1v I adjective: butch or bull in trade.

affair, affaire /;}'fe;}/ noun: someone with whom a

(usually same-sex) sexual/ emotional relationship is
shared, of any length of time i.e. ten minutes to ten years.
From French.

ajax /e1d3kz/ preposition: nearby. Perhaps from a trun-

cation of the English adjacent.

alamo /rel;}mdu/ vocative: 'I'm hot for you'. Derived

from the acronym for Lick Me Out (LMO).

almond rocks /'a:mdnd rnks/ noun: socks. From Cock-

ney rhyming slang.

and no flies I dnd ndu flaiz/ vocative: honestly! I'm

telling the truth! Also and no mogue?

antique HP /ren'ti:k e1tJ pi/ noun: old gay man (the HP

part stands for homee palone).

aqua, acqua /rekwd/ noun: water. from Parlyaree via

Italian acqua.

aris /'rens/ noun: arse, via a chain of Cockney Rhyming

Slang and Parlyaree. From 'arse' we get 'bottle and glass'
12 DICTIONARY OF POLARI

From 'bottle' we get 'aristotle', and from 'aristotle' we get

'aris'.

Sandy: Oh, anything else Jules?

Julian: One moth-eaten Shetland tweed. Ooh! Look, he's
got a baggy old aris!
Sandy: I'll say he has.
Bona Rags

arva, harva I o:v~ I verb: sexual intercourse. Probably a

truncation of charva from Parlyaree. Also noun e.g. to
have the arva. Anal intercourse was referred to as 'the full
harva'.

aspro, aspra /respr~u/ noun: a prostitute, from Parlyaree

via truncation of English arse pro(stitute).

auntie /'o:nti/ noun: an older gay man.

aunt nell /'o:nt nel/ 1. verb: to listen. 2. imperative: be

quiet!

aunt nells I 'a:nt nelz/ noun: ears.

aunt nelly fakes /'a:nt neli fe1ks/ noun: earrings.

B
B-flat omee /bi: flret ~mmi/ noun: a fat man. From rhym-
ing slang.

back slums /brek slumz/ noun: back-rooms or dark-

rooms in gay bars or bath-houses where sex occurs, orig-
inally the term referred to gambling dens or a district
 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 13

where the houses and conditions of life were of a

'wretched character'.

badge cove /'bred3 kguv I noun: an old person. From

Cant.

bagaga, bagadga /bre'gred3g/ noun: a penis. From Ital-

ian bagaggio: baggage?

balony, balonie /'bg'fauni/ noun: rubbish. Possibly from

bolonga (sausage). US slang.

barkey, barkie, barky /'bo:ki/ noun: a sailor, from Ital-

ian barca: boat? First recorded early eighteenth century.

bamet /'bo:mt/ noun: hair. From nineteenth century

Cockney Rhyming Slang - Barnet Fair.

Julian: You got your blue rinse, you got your grey rinse,
you can have any colour to match your barnet.
Bona Pets

barney I 'ba:ni/ noun: a fight.

bat, batts, bates /brets/ /be1ts/ 1. noun: a shoe. 2. verb:
shuffle or dance on-stage.

batter /'bretg/ noun: prostitution. To go on the batter

was to walk the streets as a prostitute.

battery /'bretgri/ verb: to knock down. From Italian:

battere.
battyfang /'bret1fre1J/ verb: to hit and bite.

beak /bi:k/ noun: a magistrate. From Pedlar's French.

beancove /bi:n buv I noun: a young person. From Cant.

14 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

bedroom I 'bedru:m/ noun: any place where men can

have sex. Generally used to refer to a toilet cubicle in a
cottage, but can also apply to lock-up 'rest-rooms' in
saunas.

beef curtains /bi:f 'k3:tmz/ noun: 'flaps' on a woman's

vagina.

ben, bene /bene/ adjective: good. From Italian: bene.

benar /beno:/ adjective: better.

bencove /benbov I noun: a friend. From the Cant bene-

cove, literally a good fellow.

betty bracelets I 'beti 'bre1sl~tz/ noun: police.

bevvy, beverada, bevie, bevois /bevi/ 1. noun: a drink

(especially beer). 2. noun: a public house. Survived into
common slang usage. Also bevvied (to be drunk). From
Italian: bev.

bevvy omee /bevi ;:)Umi/ noun: a drunkard.

bexleys /beksli:z/ noun: teeth. From Cockney rhyming

slang: Bexley Heath.

bianc, beyonek, beone, beyong /bi:j~uni/ noun: a shil-

ling. From Parlyaree.

bibi /bibi/ adjective: bisexual.

bijou /bi:3u:/ adjective: small. From French. Although

bijou means small, it is also used to indicate a positive
evaluation towards something - small is good e.g. I've got
a bona bijou jlatette just up the road from Shepherd's Bush. An
earlier meaning of bijou, dating around the thirteenth
 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 15

century, means finger-ring, and can also be applied to any

kind of jewel, trinket or gem.

billingsgate /'b1husge1t/ noun: bad language. The

proper name (presumably from a personal name Billing)
of one of the gates of London, and hence of the fish-
market there established. The seventeenth century refer-
ences to the 'rhetoric' or abusive language of this market
are frequent, and hence foul language is itself called
'billingsgate'.

billy doo /bdi du:/ noun: love letter. Derived from the
French billet doux.

bimbo /'b1mb~u/ noun: a dupe.

birnph /b1mf I noun: toilet paper.

binco /'bmk~u/ noun: a kerosine flare. From Italian:

binco (white).

bins /bmz/ noun: spectacles.

bit of hard /bit ~v ho:d/ noun: sexual partner (male),

especially trade.

bitaine /brtem/ noun: a prostitute.

bitch /b1tf I see Main Entry.

blag /bla::g/ verb: to make a sexual pick-up.

blaze queen /blo:zer kwi:n/ noun: used to describe an

'up-market' homosexual.

blocked /blokd/ adjective: to be high on drugs. From

1960s drug-user's slang.
16 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

blow /bl~u/ verb: to give oral sex. Truncated version of

blow-job from US slang.

BMQ /bi em kju:/ noun: acronym for Black Market Queen

- someone who hides his homosexuality.

bod /bod/ noun: body.

bodega /bod'e1d3~/ noun: a shop. From Spanish.

bold /b~uld/ adjective: 1. bold has a meaning specific to

Round the Horne, which is used to mark reference to
homosexuality. Whenever Mr Horne interprets a double
entendre in its rude sense, or when he uses Polari himself,
Julian and Sandy immediately label him as bold:

Sandy: Would you like us to lay on a turkey?

Kenneth Horne: Well I hadn't planned on a cabaret.
Sandy: Oh he's bold!
Bona Caterers

As well as meaning brave, fearless and stout-hearted, the

Oxford English Dictionary (1994) lists a secondary meaning
of bold; an audacious or shameless person, which is per-
haps associated with the meaning which Julian and Sandy
had in mind. Because of the need to keep references to
homosexuality hidden, only the brave, or careless would
dare to use the euphemisms and innuendoes which would
reveal their true natures. To be bold, in the Julian and
Sandy sense, is to be homosexual. Even to use the word
bold is to be linked to homosexuality, as it shows an
understanding of a subtext which would not be available
otherwise.
2. Bold could also be used to imply that someone wasn't
very pleasant, e.g. bold palone of the latty when the landlady
wasn't being very co-operative.
 DICTIONARY OF POLARI 17

bolus /'bgulgs/ noun: a chemist. Originally a seven-

teenth century word referring to any form of medicine that
came as a rounded pill.

bona /'bgung/ 1. adjective: good.

Julian: How bona to vada your dolly old eke.

Bona School of Languages

2. adverb: well.

Julian: Order lau your luppers on the strillers bona.

Bona Guesthouse
From Italian: buono, Lihgua Franca: bona.

bona nochy /'bgung noJti/ vocative: good night.

bona vardering /'bgung va:dgnIJ/ adjective: attractive.

Literally 'good looking'.

(the) bones /bgunz/ noun: one's boyfriend.

boobs /bu:bz/ noun: breasts. Originally US slang.

booth /'bu:o/ noun: a room, especially a bedroom.

box /boks/ noun: posterior.
boyno /b;:,mgu/ vocative: hello.
brads /bnedz/ noun: money. From Cant.
brainless I' bremlgs I adjective: good.
brandy /bnendi/ noun: posterior. From Cockney rhym-
ing slang 'brandy and rum' = bum.
brandy latch /brrendi lretJ I noun: a toilet (lock-up).
18 DICTIONARY OF POLARI

bugle /bju:gdl/ noun: a nose. Originally used to refer to

buffalo or oxen, the term occurs in connection with mili-
tary instruments of brass or copper used as signal-horns
for the infantry. To be 'bugle-browed' is to have horns like
a wild ox. The connection of bugle with the nose may be to
do with the shape of the nose, or the noise it makes.

bull /bul/ noun: a masculine female.

butch /butf I See Main Entry.

buvare /bju:'vo:re1/ noun: something drinkable. From

French buv - stem of boire: to drink.

c
cabouche /kd'bu:J I noun: a car. Derived from caboose
which was originally eighteenth century Navy slang refer-
ring to the kitchen of merchantmen on deck. By the nine-
teenth century the word was used in the US to refer to a
van or car on a freight train. By the early twentieth century
the Canadian usage of the word referred to a mobile hut
or bunk-house, moved on wheels or runners.

cackle /'ka::bl/ noun: talk. From seventeenth century

slang: 'cut the cackle'.

cackling fart /ka::klnJ fo:t/ noun: egg. From Cant.

camisa, commision, mish /kremi:s~/ noun: a shirt. Par-

lyaree. Seventeenth century. Derived from the Italian
camicia.

camp /ka::mp/ See Main Entry.

 DICTIONARY OF POLARI 19

capella, capolla, capelli, kapella /kce'pel~/ noun: a hat

or cap. Parlyaree via Italian.
camish /ka:mf I noun: meat, food. From Italian: Carne.
camish ken /ka:mJ ken/ noun: an eating house.
caroon /k~ru:n/ noun: crown piece.
carsey, karsey /ka:si/ 1. noun: house. 2. noun: toilet.
3. noun: brothel. From Italian: casa.
cartes /ka:ts/ noun: a penis.
cartzo /ka:tz~u/ noun: a penis. From Italian: cazzo
(thrust).
catever, kerterver /kcetev~/ adjective: bad. Parlyaree.
Via Italian: Cattivo.
cats /kcetz/ noun: trousers.
cavaliers and roundheads /kcev~'h~z ~n raundhedz/
noun: uncircumcized and circumcised penises.
caxton /kcekzt~n/ noun: a wig.
chant /tJa:nt/ verb: to sing.
charper /tfo:p~/ verb: to seek. Parlyaree via Italian:
Cereare.
charpering carsey /tJap~rIIJ ka:si/ noun: a police station.
Parlyaree.

charpering omee /tfa:p~rIIJ ~umi/ noun: a policeman.

Parlyaree.

charver /tJa:v~/ verb: to fuck. Parlyaree.

20 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

charvering donna /tJa:v;JrIIJ don;J/ noun: a prostitute.

Parlyaree.

chaud I f;Jud/ noun: penis.

chavvies /tJcevi:z/ noun: children. Parlyaree.

chemmie /tJemi/ noun: a shirt or blouse. Probably from

chemise.

cherry /tJeri/ noun: a man's virginity.

chicken /'tJ1k;}n/ 1. noun: an attractive man (usually

aged under 25). 2. noun: a young boy.

chinker, chickwa /tJmk;J/ numeral: five. From Parlyaree

via Italian: cinque.

cleaning the cage out /kli:mIJ 0;} ke1d3 aut/ verb:

cunnilingus.

cleaning the kitchen /kli:mIJ 0;} k1tJm/ verb: oral/ anal

sex (rimming).

clevie /klevi/ noun: vagina.

clobber /klob;}/ noun: clothing.

cod /kod/ adjective: bad. Possibly derived from a usage

of the word which originated in the fourteenth century,
meaning scrotum (itself from the earlier definition of
'bag'), which is perhaps best known from the term cod-
piece. However, from the seventeenth century onwards it
become a slang word which could be applied to people,
having a number of different forces including fool, honest
man, old man (perhaps an abbreviation of codger), or
drunken man. By the beginning of the twentieth century,
 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 21

cod was also slang for a joke, hoax or parody. One could
speak of the 'cod' version of something, 'cod Victorian
decorations' for example. The Polari meaning of cod is
slightly different from this; having taken and distilled the
negative connotations from cod meaning hoax, cod as Polari
simply means something bad.

Sandy: Right, right, well I'll just open the wardrobe. Oh,
here, look - his wardrobe. Haaaa!
Julian: Haaaaa! Oh what a naff lot!
Sandy: It is a bit cod isn't it.
Bona Rags

coddy, cody /kodi/ 1. adjective: bad, amateurish. Elabo-

ration of cod. 2. noun: body. Truncation of lucoddy.

cods /kodz/ noun: testicles.

cold calling /kguld b:hIJ I verb: to walk into a pub

looking for company.

colin /kolm/ noun: an erect penis.

coliseum curtains /koJg'sbm b:tmz/ noun: foreskin.

(the) colour of his eyes /kAlg gv h1z a1z/ noun: penis

size.

corybungus /konbA1Jd3gs/ noun: posterior.

cossy /kosi/ noun: cossy occurs once as a Polari word in

Round The Horne. It is a truncation of costume, and appears
to be fairly commonly known as the slang word cozzy or
cozzie today, frequently heard in Australian soap operas
and used to refer to 'swimming costume'. However, if it
were not for Julian explicitly noting its Polari status, it
would not have been included here:
 r
22 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

Julian: Oh dear, I wonder if he's with BBC2? What cossy

did they say?
Kenneth Horne: Cossy?
Julian: Costume. Polari for costume.
Kenneth Horne: Oh yes, they said a dinner-suit.
Bona Studios

cottage, cottaging /'kot1d3/ noun: a public lavatory or

urinal. Cottage first started being used to mean toilet at the
beginning of the twentieth century. In British parks, the
'facilities' provided tended to look like miniature country
cottages, with a sloping roof and windows, and homosex-
ual men started to refer to them as such. Just as camping
and cruising can be used as double entendres, so could
phrases which involved cottaging: 'I'm just back from a
lovely cottaging holiday in the Lake District'.

crimper /'knmp;:l/ noun: a hairdresser.

crocus /krnuk;:ls/ noun: a doctor. Possibly derived from

the Latinized surname of Dr Helkiah Crooke, author of a
Description of the Body of Man (1615).

cruise /'kru:z/ See Main Entry.

cull /kAl/ noun: 1. mate. 2. fool. Cant, Molly slang. Culls

are also used as a shortened version of testicles.

D
dacha, daiture, deger /de1tf;:l/ numeral: ten. From Par-
lyaree via Italian: dieci.
 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 23

daffy / drefi/ adjective: to be drunk on gin. Daffy's Elixir

was a medicine given to infants, to which gin was often
added.

dally /'dreli/ adjective: sweet, kind. Possibly an alternate

pronunciation of dolly.

dash /'dref I verb: leave quickly.

deaner, deener, dener, diener /di:nd/ noun: a shilling.

dear /did/ (also dearie) noun: used as a friendly yet

rather patronizing personal term of address. To be called
dear may imply that someone is unable to remember your
name.

delph I delf I noun: teeth.

dewey, dooe, dooey, duey /'dju:1/ /du:1/ numeral: two.
Parlyaree via Italian: due.

dhobie, dohbie /'ddubi/ verb: to wash. noun: washing.

From nautical slang, although the word originally comes
from the Hindi dhobi: an Indian washerman.

diddle /'d1ddl/ noun: gin. A diddle-cove was the keeper

of a gin or spirit shop. In the US the word meant liquor.

(the) dilly I 'ddi/ noun: a shortened version of Piccadilly

Circus: a part of central London that was a popular hang-
out and pick-up place for Polari-speaking male prostitutes.

dilly boy / 1d1li b::n/ noun: a male prostitute.

dinarly, dinarla, dinaly I dmo:li/ noun: money. Spanish:

dinero. Italian: denaro.
24 DICTIONARY OF POLARI

dinge I dmd3/ adjective: black. A dinge queen was a gay

man who sought out black partners.

'When I saw you having a vada in the dinge section, I

said to myself, Andrea - my name's Andy in real life
actually, dear - Andrea, I said to myself, there's a gay
one if ever I saw one.'
Michael Carson (1988: 203) Sucking Sherbert Lemons

dish I d1J I noun: 1. an anus. 2. an attractive man. The

original meaning was associated with food - terms to do
with food are often used metaphorically to imply sex or
attractiveness e.g. chicken, beefcake. A more recent gay (but
not Polari) use of dish as a verb means to tell someone
what you think of them.

dish the dirt I dif og d3:t I verb: to talk things over,

gossip.

dizzy I d1zi/ adjective: scatterbrained.

do a turn I du: g t3:n/ verb: have sex. Most likely derived
from theatrical slang, but also used among homosexual
men in the Merchant Navy.

do the rights I du: og ra1ts/ verb: to seek revenge.

dog and bone I dog gn 'bgun/ noun: a telephone. From
Cockney rhyming slang.

dolly I doli/ 1. noun: a smart or attractive woman. Can

also be used as a term of address: 'It's ages since I've seen
you, dolly!'
2. adjective: attractive (e.g. dolly-bird):

Sandy: Oh yes we're filling in as photographers between

acting engagements on the telly. We just done this
 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 25
one where I'm all dragged up as a Sultan squatting
on me cushion. All surrounded by these dolly little
pal ones.
Studio Bona

3. Bruce Rodgers (1972: 65), in his American-based gay

lexicon translates dolly as meaning penis, as well as attrac-
tive. However, it is not certain if this would have been
known by the Round the Horne writers, who used the word
in its adjectival sense.
Dolly most likely began as a pet-name for Dorothy, and
as early as the seventeenth century was being used to refer
to a drab, slattern or useless woman. By the early twentieth
century, its meaning had changed to refer to a pleasant
attractive woman. By the 1970s, dolly could be used on
men as well as women - for example, a gay porn magazine
of the 1970s was called The Dolly Male.

dona, donner, donah, doner /dong/ noun: a woman.

From Parlyaree probably via Italian.

don't be strange I d;}unt bi: stremd3/ imperative: don't

hold back.

dorcas /d;:,:kgs/ noun: term of endearment, 'one who

cares'. The Dorcas Society was a ladies' church association
of the nineteenth century, which made clothes for the poor.

dowry /'dauri/ quantifier: a lot.

drag /dra:g/ See Main Entry.

drag up /drreg Ap/ verb: to wear woman's clothes.

drage I dre13/ noun: drag.

26 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

dress up /dres Ap/ noun: a bad (as in unconvincing)

drag queen.

drogle I drdugdl/ noun: a dress.

dubes, doobs, doobies I du:bz/ noun: 1. pills. 2. mari-
juana cigarettes.

duchess /'dAtfds/ noun: a rich or grand gay man.

ducky, duckie I dAki/ noun. Term of address, used in a

similar way to dear. In the sixteenth century ducky was
used to refer to a woman's breast, but by the nineteenth
century it was used as a term of affection.

dyke, dike /de1k/ noun: a lesbian. See Main Entry.

E
ear fakes /I;J fe1kz/ noun: earrings.

ecaf /'i:kref I noun: a face. Derived from backslang (the

backwards spelling of face).

eek, eke /i:k/ noun: a face. Truncated and more familiar

form of ecaf, as this Polari version of the song 'Baby Face'
shows:

Bona eke, you've got the campest little bona eke

And when you vada me if leaves me weak, bona eke
My heart stops a racket every time I see your packet
Nightclub Act, Lee Sutton

efink /i:fiIJk/ noun: a knife. From back-slang.

 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 27
eine I am/ noun: London.
emag /i:mreg/ noun: a game. From back-slang.

ends I endz/ noun: hair.

esong I 'i:SDIJ I noun: a nose. Derived from back-slang.

F
fab /freb/ adjective: great. Original truncation of
fabulous.

fabe /fe1b/ adjective: great. Most likely an expansion on

fab.

fabel /fe1bgl/ adjective: good. Possibly a blend of Jab

and belle.

fabulosa /frebju:'lgus;;}/ adjective: wonderful. A play on

fabulous. The -ulosa ending links the word to Italian. Also
from Spanish: fabuloso.

fag /freg/ noun: a gay man. See Main Entry.

fag hag /freg hreg/ noun: the female friend of a gay

man.

fairy /fe;;}ri:/ noun: an effeminate homosexual man. See

Main Entry.

fake /fe1k/ 1. noun: an erection. 2. verb: to make.

3. adjective: used as a stem to imply that something is false
or artificially constructed in some way. From Italian: faccio.
28 DICTIONARY OF POLARI

fakement /fe1km;}nt/ noun: 1. a thing. 2. personal adorn-

ment. Derived from fake.

fake riah /fe1k 'rai;}/ noun: a wig.

£ambles /fremb;}lz/ noun: hands. Also famble cheat: ring;

fambler: a glove. Sixteenth century slang. The original sense
of the word most likely meant to grope or fumble.

fang carsey /freIJ ka:zi/ noun: a dentist's surgery. Also

fang faker, fang crocus: dentist. Fangs were teeth.

fantabulosa /frentrebju:'faus;}/ adjective: wonderful.

Most likely derived from fantabulous, a blend of fabulous
and fantastic, occurring in the late 1950s. The -ulosa ending
gives it the Italian/Polari sound.

farting crackers /fa:tIIJ krrek;}z/ noun: trousers.

fashioned /freJ;}nd/ adjective: synonym of the adjectival

use of fake.

fashioned riah /freJ;}nd 1ra1;}/ noun: a wig.

fatcha /fretJ;}/ verb: shave, apply make-up. From Italian:

faccia.

feely, feele, feelier, fellia /fi:li/ noun: a young person

or a child. From Italian: jiglie.

femme /fem/ noun: 1. female. 2. a feminine lesbian. US

slang.

ferricadooza /fa:i:kredu:z;}/ noun: a knock-down blow.

The stem Jerri- refers to something made of iron, while
caduca means 'fall' in Italian.
 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 29

filiome /fi:liI;}Uffii/ noun: 1. a young man. 2. an under-

aged sexual partner. Derived from a combination of feely
and omee. From Italian. See feely.

filly /fdi/ adjective: pretty.

fish /f1J I noun: woman (derogatory).

flange / 1flrend3/ 1. noun: vagina. One of the original

eighteenth century uses of flange refers to a projecting flat
rim, collar or rib, used to strengthen an object, to guide it,
to keep it in place or to facilitate its attachment to another
object. 2. verb: to walk along.

flatties /flreti:z/ noun: men (especially those who make

up an audience). The female equivalent is gillies. The term
fiattie is slightly derogatory, originally meaning one who is
ignorant of the ways of professional thieving, and there-
fore a dupe.

flowery /'flau;:lri/ noun: lodgings, accommodation. A

flowery dell is nineteenth century rhyming slang for prison
cell.

fogle /'faug;:l!/ noun: a handkerchief or neckerchief

(usually silk). A/ogle-hunter was a pickpocket.

fogus /faug;:ls/ noun: tobacco. Seventeenth century

slang, derived most likely from the word fog, which was
used to mean smoke.

foofs /fu:fs/ noun: breasts.

fortuni /b:tJu:ni/ adjective: gorgeous.

frock /frok/ noun: female attire.

30 DICTIONARY OF POLARI

frock billong !allies /frnk btloi:i lreli:z/ noun: trousers.

Adapted from Tok Pisin where the word billong means
'belonging to'.

fruit /fru:t/ noun: a gay man. Originally US or prison

slang.

full drag /fAl drreg/ noun: completely decked out in

women's attire e.g. 'Betty's got the full drag on tonight!'
See drag.

full eke /fAl i:k/ noun: wearing make-up. See eek.

fungus /'fAi:iggs/ noun: an old man.

funt /funt/ noun: a pound.

G
gajo /gred3gu/ noun: outsider. From Romany.

gam I grem/ noun: 1. oral sex. Shortening of the French:

gamahuche. 2. leg. Possibly coming from gamb or gambe, the
northern form of jambe which means the 'leg of an animal
represented on a coat of arms'.

gamming /grem1i:i/ verb: oral sex. From gam.

gamp /gremp/ noun: umbrella. After Mrs Sarah Camp,

a nurse in Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit, who carried a large
cotton umbrella.

gardy loo / go:di lu:/ vocative: look out! Originally used

when the contents of a chamber pot were thrown out of a
 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 31

window. From pseudo-French gare de l'eau 'beware of the

water' (the correct version would be gare I'eau).

gay I ge1/ See Main entry.

gelt I gelt I noun: money. Most likely from German.

gent /d3ent/ noun: money. Variant pronunciation of
gelt, or perhaps from the French argent.

gildy I gddi/ adjective: fancy. Used in the film Velvet

Goldmine. 'A tart in gildy clobber' - 'A slut in fancy
clothes'.

gillies I d3Ili:s/ noun: women (especially those in an

audience). From Parlyaree.

girl I g3:l/ noun: term of address, similar in meaning to

ducky, dear, heariface etc. These words are often used as a
kind of full-stop at the end of every sentence: ' ... dolly
ecafe, girl!'

glory hole /'gb:ri h~ul/ noun: hole between two stalls

in a toilet or cottage - usually big enough to poke things
through. Smaller holes which are only big enough to look
through are generally referred to as peep-holes. It's likely
that this word originated from navy or army slang. In the
navy a glory-hole was any of the various compartments on
a ship, or one or more rooms used as sleeping quarters for
stewards (of whom a significant proportion were homosex-
ual, at least in the merchant navy). In army slang, a glory-
hole was an expression for any small billet or dug-out.

glossies /'glnsi:z/ noun: magazines. US slang.

goolie I 'gu:li/ adjective: black.

32 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

goolie ogle fakes /'gu:li ;:,ug;}l fe1ks/ noun: sunglasses.

got your number I got ju;} nAmb;:,/ verb phrase: if you've

'got someone's number' you know what they're up to, or
you know they're homosexual. A favourite of Julian and
Sandy:

Kenneth Horne: Now if you're referring to Miss Fifi La

Bootstrap.
Julian: Yes we are.
Kenneth Horne: She's a talented cabaret artiste.
Sandy: Oooh!
Kenneth Horne: Yes I was helping her with her career.
Sandy: Oooh! Helping her, that's alright ducky, we've
all got your number!
Bona Tax Consultants

groin, groyne I gDm/ noun: a ring.

groinage I groin;:,d3/ noun: jewellery.

gutless I gAtl;:,s I adjective: either very good or very bad.

H
hambag, handbag /'hcembceg/ noun: money.

hampsteads /'hcempst;:,ds/ noun: teeth. Cockney rhym-

ing slang via Hampstead Heath.

harris /hcer;:,s/ noun: arse. Likely to be derived from

aris.

head /hed/ noun: toilet.

 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 33

hearing cheat /hi:nIJ tfi:t I noun: ear. Cant - literally a

hearing thing.

heartface /'ha:t fe1s/ noun: term of address. Used in a

similar way to dear. These terms of address can be used
sarcastically or ironically - heartface, for example, when
used on an old or unattractive man can be quite insulting.

Julian: Now how can we help you, visage de couer?

Sandy: That's French for heartface!
Bona School of Languages

Hilda Handcuffs /hrld~ 'hrenkAfs/ noun: the police.

HP I eitf pi: I noun: a gay man. Derived from the initial

letters of homee palone.

husband /'hAzb;;md/ noun: a male lover, usually more

than just a one-night stand, but can be used ironically to
refer to any short-term sexual partner. See also wedding
night.

I
importuning /Imp:):'tfu:mIJ/ verb: street 'trading'. Ironic
and often bitter use of legalese.

in the life Im o~ laif I adjective: euphemism for

homosexual.

irish I amf I noun: a wig. From Cockney rhyming slang

- Irish jig.

it /It I pronoun: used to refer to a short-term sexual

partner.
 r
34 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

J
jarry I d3a:ri/ verb: to eat. Derived from the Parlyaree
word munjaree. It is especially used to refer to eating
something sexually: e.g. jarry the cartes (to fellate).

Jennifer Justice I d3endfa d3Ast1s/ noun: the police.

jew's eye I d3u:z a1/ noun: anything of value. From
sixteenth century slang.

jim and jack I d31m dil d3rek/ noun: a back. From rhym-
ing slang.

jogger, jogar I d3ogd/ verb: 1. to play. 2. to sing. 3. to

entertain. From Italian: giocare (play I game).

joggering omee I d3ogdn1J dumi/ noun: an entertainer.

joshed up f3u:fd Ap/ adjective: looking your best. See

zhoosh.

jubes, joobs I d3u:bz/ noun: breasts (female). Also pec-

torals (male).

K
kaffies /krefi:z/ noun: trousers.

kapello /kre'peldu/ noun: a cloak. From Italian: capello.

ken /ken/ noun: a house. From Cant.

 DICTIONARY OF POLARI 35

kenza /kenz:J/ numeral: twelve.

kerterver cartzo /k3:t3:V:J ko:tzdu/ noun: a venereal dis-

ease. Literally bad genitals. Kerterver is a variant of catever.

kosher homie /buf:J h:Jumi/ noun: a Jewish man. From

Hebrew.

L
lady /le1di/ noun: a homosexual male.

lag, lage /lreg/ 1. noun: a convict or prisoner. 2. verb: to

urinate.

lallie, lally, lall, lyle, /lreli/ noun: a leg. Also !ally-pegs

(possible rhyming slang for legs).

lally-covers /lreli kA v:Js/ noun: trousers.

lally-drags /lreli drregz/ noun: trousers. Also vally-drags,

although this may be a mis-spelling.

lamor /lre'm;:>:/ noun: a kiss. From French.

lappers /lrep:Jz/ noun: hands.

large /la:d3/ superlative. See mental

lattie /'lreti/ noun: a house or flat. From Parlyaree,

where its original meaning referred to the lodgings used
by itinerant actors.

lattie on water /'lreti nn w;:>:td/ noun: a ship. Literally a

house on water.
36 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

lattie on wheels /'lreti on wi:lz/ noun: a car or taxi.

Literally a house on wheels.

lau /!au/ verb: to place or to put. Used in the Julian and

Sandy phrase order !au your !uppers on the strillers bona.

lav /!rev I noun: a word. The phrase bona lavs can be

used as a sign off to a letter meaning 'best wishes'.

lell /lei/ verb: to take.

lepta /leptd/ numeral: eleven.

letch water /letf W:J:td/ noun: pre-cum.

letties /'leti:z/ noun: lodgings. From Italian letto: bed.

letty /'leti/ 1. noun: a bed. 2. verb: to sleep. From Italian

Zetta: bed.

libbage /hb1d3/ noun: bed, or any sleeping quarters.

Cant. Lib was sleep.

lills /hlz/ noun: hands.

lily, lilly /!Iii/ noun: the police. From Lily Law.

ling grappling /hi) grrephIJ/ noun: sex. Originally, to

ling was to stick the tongue out of the mouth.

lingo /hl)gdu/ noun: foreign language.

lippy /'hpi/ noun: lipstick.

long dedger /IDIJ ded3d/ numeral: eleven.

lucoddy /lu:kodi/ noun: body. Cockney rhyming slang.

 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 37

lullaby cheat /lul;Jbai tJi:t/ noun: a baby.

!uppers /lup;JZ/ noun: fingers.

M
mais oui /mer wi:/ vocative: of course. French.

manky /mreoki/ adjective: bad, poor, tasteless. From

1950s UK slang. Possibly influenced by the French manque.

manly alice /mrenli: rehs/ noun: a masculine gay man.

maquiage / 1mreki:o:3/ noun: make-up. From French

maquiller: to make up one's face.

maria I mrerb I noun: sperm.

mart covers /mo:t kAv;Jz/ noun: gloves.

martini I ma:ti:ni/ noun: a ring.

marts, martinis /mo:ts/ noun: hands. Possibly from

French main. See also sweet and dry.

Mary, Mary-Ann /me~ri/ noun: 1. a generic term for

any gay man. 2. a Catholic gay man. 3. Exclamation. Oh
Mary! Also Muscle Mary- one who spends too long in the
gym. Likely origins, Mollie slang and/ or US gay slang.

matlock mender /'mretlok mend~/ noun: a dentist.

matlocks / 1mretloks/ noun: teeth.

38 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

mauve /mduv I adjective: someone who appears homo-

sexual e.g. 'she's mauve!'.

mazarine /mrezdri:n/ noun: a platform below stage.

Theatrical slang.

measures, medzers, metzers, metzes /me3dz/ noun:

money.

meat and two veg /mi:t dn tu: ved3/ noun: a man's

penis and testicles. Euphemism.

meat rack /mi:t rrek/ noun: 1. a male brothel. 2. any

place where large numbers of men are sexually available.

medzer caroon /medzd kd'ru:n/ noun: a half crown.

medzer, madzer /medzd/ noun: half. From Italian:

mezzo.

mental /mentdl/ superlative: 'That's mental' - that's the

best! (or the worst). 1960s slang.

meshigener /mef1gnd/ adjective: crazy. From Yiddish.

metties, metzies /meti:z/ noun: money. From the word

metal.

mezsh /me3/ noun: money. Contraction of measures.

mince /mms/ verb: to walk with short steps in an

affected manner. Mince dates back to the sixteenth century,
and was originally used to describe the movement of
females. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the verb
was used with reference to males ('The men are all pup-
pies, mincing and dancing and chattering', Foote, 1753).
 DICTIONARY OF POLAR! 39

Julian: Through these portals have minced England's

top male models.
Bona Male Models

minces /mms;}Z/ noun: eyes. Derived from Cockney

Rhyming Slang. Mince pies are eyes.

minge /mmd3/ noun: a vagina. Derogatory. Early twen-

tieth century slang, most likely from the army or navy and
used to refer to female company. Linked with binge (alco-
hol) e.g. 'His problem is minge, mine is binge.'

minnie I mmi/ 1. noun: a homosexual man. 2. verb: to

walk.

moey, mooe I 'mu:i/ noun: 1. a mouth. 2. a face. From

Romany mooi.

mogue /m;Jug/ verb: to mislead or lie.

molly /moli/ noun: a homosexual man. Also margery.

montrel /montrel/ noun: a clock or watch. From French

montre.

mother /mAc'fa/ pronoun: me, myself. Often used by

older gay men to friends when they're talking about
themselves, especially in the phrase your mother: 'pull up a
chair and tell your mother all about it'.

muck /mAk/ noun: stage make-up. From theatrical

slang.

mudge /mAd3/ noun: a hat.

multy, multi, mutlee /mAlti/ quantifier: very, much,

many, a lot. From Italian: molto.
40 DICTIONARY OF POLAR!

May all our dolly Sisters & Brothers in the order receive
multee orgasmic visitations from the spirit of Queer
Power in 1998.
Blessing from the London Order of
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

mungaree, mangare, munjarry, manjarie, manjaree, mon-

jaree, munja, numgare /m;Jn 1d3o:ri/ 1. noun: food. 2.
verb: to eat. Mungaree probably comes from Parlyaree via
the Italian mangiare (to eat). See also jarry.

munge /mAnd3/ noun: darkness.

N
nada /na:d;}/ quantifier: none. The term nada to vada
in the larder means that someone is not particularly well
endowed.

naff, naph I 'mef/ adjective: 1. tasteless. 2. heterosexual.

Naff is a word which has found its way into late twenti-
eth century English slang and is used among heterosexuals
and homosexuals alike. However, it has an intriguing
history as a Polari word. The Oxford English Dictionary
(1994) cites the word niffy-naffy as meaning inconsequential
or stupid. One story claims that it began as an acronym
slang-word used by the American army in World War II,
meaning Not Available For Fucking, but somehow passed
over into the gay male lexicon at this time. This is credible
- in The Naked Civil Servant Quentin Crisp describes how
once the Americans entered the war, London became full
of sexually available uniformed men.
Partridge (1970), however claims that naff is prostitutes'
slang, and gives two possibilities as to its origins: one from
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the
collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the
individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the
United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright
law in the United States and you are located in the United
States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying,
distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works
based on the work as long as all references to Project
Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will
support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free
access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for
keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the
work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement
by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full
Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge
with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also
govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most
countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside
the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to
the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying,
displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works
based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The
Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright
status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project

Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other

immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must
appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project
Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed,
viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United

States and most other parts of the world at no cost and
with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,
give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project
Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United
States, you will have to check the laws of the country
where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is

derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of
the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to
anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges.
If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of
paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use
of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth
in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is

posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and
distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through
1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder.
Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™
License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright
holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project

Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files
 containing a part of this work or any other work associated with
Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute

this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1
with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the
Project Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form,
including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if
you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project
Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or
other format used in the official version posted on the official
Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must,
at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy,
a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy
upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or
other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project
Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,

performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™
works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or

providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works provided that:

• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive
from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the
method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The
fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark,
but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty
 payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on
which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your
periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked
as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information
about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation.”

• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who

notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt
that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project
Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg™ works.

• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of

any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in
the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90
days of receipt of the work.

• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project

Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different
terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain
permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™
trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3
below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend

considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on,
transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright
law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these
efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium
on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as,
but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data,
transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property
infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be
read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except

for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in
paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark,
and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic
work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for
damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE
THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT
EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE
THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY
DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE
TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL,
PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE
NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you

discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of
receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you
paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you
received the work from. If you received the work on a physical
medium, you must return the medium with your written
explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the
defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu
of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.
If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund
in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set

forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’,
WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied

warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this
agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this
agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the
maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable
state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of
this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the

Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the
Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any
volunteers associated with the production, promotion and
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless
from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that
arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you
do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project
Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or
deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect
you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission

of Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new
computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of
volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the

assistance they need are critical to reaching Project
Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™
collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In
2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was
created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project
Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your
efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the
Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project

Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-
profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the
laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status
by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or
federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions
to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax
deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and
your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500

West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact
links and up to date contact information can be found at the
Foundation’s website and official page at
www.gutenberg.org/contact
 Section 4. Information about Donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without
widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission
of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works
that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form
accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated
equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly
important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws

regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of
the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform
and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many
fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not
solicit donations in locations where we have not received written
confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine
the status of compliance for any particular state visit
www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states

where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know
of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from
donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot

make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations
received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp
our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current

donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a
number of other ways including checks, online payments and
credit card donations. To donate, please visit:
www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About

Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could
be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose
network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several

printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by
copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus,
we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any
particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,

including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new
eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear
about new eBooks.
back
back
back
back
back
back
back
back
back
back
back
Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.

More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge

connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and

personal growth every day!

ebookbell.com