Random word

Wondering how to use Polari in a sentence? Below are 10+ example sentences from authentic English texts. Including the meaning .

Rare word

Polari in a sentence

Related words

Polari | Polarization | Polarized | Polarizing | Polaris | Polarity | Polarised | Polarisation | Polarising

Polari meaning

  1. A cant used in the London fishmarkets, in the British theatre, and by the gay community in Britain, attested since at least the 19th century and popularised in the 1950s and 1960s by the camp characters Julian and Sandy in the popular BBC radio show Round the Horne.
  2. A cant used by travelling showmen in Britain.

Using Polari

  • The main meaning on this page is: A cant used in the London fishmarkets, in the British theatre, and by the gay community in Britain, attested since at least the 19th century and popularised in the 1950s and 1960s by the camp characters Julian and Sandy in the popular BBC radio show Round the Horne. | A cant used by travelling showmen in Britain.
  • In the example corpus, polari often appears in combinations such as: of polari, use polari, the polari.

Context around Polari

  • Average sentence length in these examples: 22.1 words
  • Position in the sentence: 4 start, 4 middle, 2 end
  • Sentence types: 10 statements, 0 questions, 0 exclamations

Often before:

published 1× use 1× obscure 1×

Often after:

lexicon 1× word 1× lexicons 1×

Sentence patterns with Polari

These short patterns come directly from the example sentences and show how the word is often embedded:

account of polari as part 1× album called polari with the 1× available the polari lexicon and 1× books on polari were published 1× dictionary of polari and gay 1× him in polari 1× in use polari had begun 1× of obscure polari 1×

Sentence openings and endings

Common sentence openings:

also in 2002 1× decline in use 1× entry into standard 1× henry mayhew gave 1× in 2002 two 1× in 2012 artists 1×

Common sentence endings:

an uncertain etymology 1× by paul baker 1× entered mainstream slang 1× him in polari 1× in the 1850s 1× in the slang 1×

Words around Polari

Just before it in the word index:

polarbear 2 polara 2 polar 954 polanyi 19 polansky 12 polanskis 3

Just after it in the word index:

polaria 2 polarimeter 2 polarimetric 2 polarimetry 4 polaris 192 polarisation 60

Similar in corpus frequency:

aami 15 aat 15 abada 15 abcs 15 abdulkareem 15 abha 15

Corpus analysis for Polari

  • In this selection, "polari" usually appears near the start of the sentence. The average example has 22.1 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
  • Around the word, published, use, obscure, lexicon, word and lexicons stand out and add context to how "polari" is used.
  • Recognizable usage signals include account of polari as part and album called polari with the. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
  • By corpus frequency, "polari" sits close to words such as aami, aat and abada, which helps place it inside the broader word index.

Example types with polari

The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:

Short example sentences

The Polari word naff main, meaning inferior or tacky, has an uncertain etymology. (13 words)

Entry into standard English A number of words from Polari have entered mainstream slang. (14 words)

Decline in use Polari had begun to fall into disuse amongst the gay subculture by the late 1960s. (18 words)

Longer example sentences

There are many sources of Polari lexicons or "dictionaries" online, most of which are random collections with little or no research, rather than a descriptive list of terms in use. (30 words)

In 2002, two books on Polari were published, Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men, and Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang (both by Paul Baker). (28 words)

Williams, in particular, would add many lines of his own ("Lau your luppers on the strillers bona" (play the piano) being his most extreme use of obscure Polari). (28 words)

Example sentences (10)

In 2002, two books on Polari were published, Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men, and Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang (both by Paul Baker).

Also in 2002, hip hop artist Juha released an album called Polari, with the chorus of the title song written entirely in the slang.

Decline in use Polari had begun to fall into disuse amongst the gay subculture by the late 1960s.

Entry into standard English A number of words from Polari have entered mainstream slang.

Henry Mayhew gave a verbatim account of Polari as part of an interview with a Punch and Judy showman in the 1850s.

In 2012, artists Jez Dolan and Joseph Richardson created an iPhone app which makes available the Polari lexicon and comprehensive list of etymologies.

In Carnival of Monsters (1973) the Doctor is unable to understand Vorg when he tries to speak to him in Polari.

The Polari word naff main, meaning inferior or tacky, has an uncertain etymology.

There are many sources of Polari lexicons or "dictionaries" online, most of which are random collections with little or no research, rather than a descriptive list of terms in use.

Williams, in particular, would add many lines of his own ("Lau your luppers on the strillers bona" (play the piano) being his most extreme use of obscure Polari).

Common combinations with polari

These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts:

Frequently asked questions

How do you use "polari" in a sentence?
An example: "In 2002, two books on Polari were published, Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men, and Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang (both by Paul Baker)." This page contains 10+ example sentences with the word "polari" from authentic English texts.
What does "polari" mean?
Polari means: A cant used in the London fishmarkets, in the British theatre, and by the gay community in Britain, attested since at least the 19th century and popularised in the 1950s and 1960s by the camp characters Julian and Sandy in the popular BBC radio show Round the Horne.
How many example sentences with "polari" are there?
Voorbeeldzinnen.info contains at least 10+ example sentences with "polari", drawn from a database of millions of English sentences.