Origin and historical usage Troll (gay slang)

a troll fearsome member of race of creatures norse mythology have achieved international recognition, , become stock characters in popular culture.

troll gay slang amongst lexicon of cant polari used in gay subculture in britain has become more mainstream transcontinental travel , online communication. there still debate how polari originated origins can traced @ least 19th century.

the term troll became equated cruising because troll creature of scandinavian folklore depicted devilish imp lives in dark places , “patrols” in endless search. word trolla in swedish means ‘to charm or bewitch’. or perhaps trolling trolling fish: cast wide net , hook whatever can.

polari word, troll can mean ‘to walk effeminately’, or ‘to walk, seeking sex’. trolling can used interchangeably cruising , of polari usage meant disguise being talked because being gay (and in contexts still is) taboo , discussing gay sex in public area can risky.

the word troll has remained unfamiliar many gay men in britain, have never heard, used, or needed use term. regular customers in same gay bar might have different takes on usage – 1 referring cruising, referring negative version of troll have skin crawling in seconds lascivious looks , raunchy repartee, meaning older gays prefer troll younger guys.

variations on troll exist. gay culture author asserts trolley-dolly may derived perhaps combination of lalies , troll. trolley-dolly (contemporary gay slang) gay flight attendant. say, however, phrase references duty-free , drinks trolleys pushed flight attendants; many people use phrase refer female flight attendants , in uk applied supermarket checkout operators.

trolling term used generations among fishermen in boats, describe way let line hook , bait on fishing line follow along behind boat moving slowly, hoping slow baiting of fish result in catch. in gay sub-cultural slang usage coded seem though speaker talking fishing behavior gay slang usage decodes message mean cruising sex , luring potential contacts [catch]. homosexual cruising called trolling mean moving along , letting potential contacts [ catches ] have opportunity take bait i.e. connect sex. carry implicit meaning of being behavior done older less desirable men seeking sex in public places, younger people may use term either describe serious sexual hunting, or make light of it, , using term trolling put humorous light on considered socially questionable behavior.