Diner lingo explained

Diner lingo is a kind of American verbal slang used by cooks and chefs in diners and diner-style restaurants, and by the wait staff to communicate their orders to the cooks.^[1] Usage of terms with similar meaning, propagated by oral culture within each establishment, may vary by region or even among restaurants in the same locale.

History

The origin of the lingo is unknown, but there is evidence suggesting it may have been used by waiters as early as the 1870s and 1880s. Many of the terms used are lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek and some are a bit racy or ribald, but are helpful mnemonic devices for short-order cooks and staff. Diner lingo was most popular in diners and luncheonettes from the 1920s to the 1970s.

List of terms

• 86 – omit from an order; "hold"^[2]
• Adam and Eve on a raft – two poached eggs atop toast^[3]
• Adam's ale – water
• Angels on horseback – oysters wrapped in bacon
• Axle grease – butter or margarine
• B&B – bread and butter^[4]
• Baled hay – shredded wheat
• Bad breath – onions
• Bark – frankfurter
• Battle Creek in a bowl – bowl of corn flakes cereal^[4]
• Belly warmer – coffee
• BLT – bacon/lettuce/tomato sandwich^[5]
• Biddy board – French toast^[4]
• Blue plate special – a discount-priced meal that usually changes daily
• Blowout patches – pancakes^[4]
• Board – slice of toast
• Boiled leaves – hot tea^[6]
• Bowl of red – chili con carne^[4]
• Bow wow – hot dog
• Brick – biscuit
• Bridge/Bridge party – four of anything^[4]
• Bronx vanilla – garlic; originated in the 1920s.
• Bullets – beans
• Burn it – well done
• Burn the British – toasted English muffin^[4]
• Cackleberries – eggs^[7]
• Cats' eyes – tapioca pudding^[8]
• Checkerboard – waffle^[4]
• City juice – water
• Coffee high and dry – black coffee (no cream or sugar)^[4]
• Cowboy with spurs – western omelette with fries
• Cow paste – butter
• Dead eye – poached egg
• Deluxe – varies from restaurant to restaurant, generally refers to "all the toppings"
• Dragged through the garden - serve with a large variety of toppings and condiments (usually vegetables).
• Dogs and maggots – crackers and cheese
• Drown the kids – boiled eggs^[4]
• Echo – repeat of the last order^[4]
• Eve with a lid – apple pie^[9]
• Fish eyes – tapioca pudding^[10]
• Foreign entanglements – spaghetti^[4]
• Greasy spoon – slang term for a diner
• Guess water – soup^[4]
• Hemorrhage – ketchup^[4]
• Hockey puck – a well-done burger
• Halitosis – garlic; originated in the 1920s.
• Hot blond in sand – coffee with cream and sugar^[4]
• Hot top – hot chocolate or chocolate sauce
• Houseboat – banana split^[11]
• In the alley – served as a side dish^[4]
• In the weeds – overwhelmed^[12]
• Irish cherries – carrots
• Italian perfume – garlic; originated in the 1920s.
• Jamoka – coffee
• Java – coffee
• Jayne Mansfield – tall stack of pancakes^[13]
• Jewish round – bagel^[4]
• Joe – coffee^[14]
• Life preserver – doughnut
• Looseners – prunes
• Lumber – a toothpick
• Machine oil – syrup^[4]
• Maiden's delight – cherries
• Make it cry – add onion
• Moo juice – milk
• Mug of murk – black coffee
• Mully – beef stew
• Nervous pudding – Jell-O
• O'Connors – potatoes
• On a raft – Texas toast in place of buns
• On the hoof – cooked rare (for any kind of meat)^[15]
• Punk – bread
• Put wheels on it – carry-out order; to go^[7]
• Rabbit food – lettuce
• Radio sandwich – tuna fish sandwich
• Ripper – a deep fried hot dog
• Rush it – Russian dressing
• Sand – sugar
• Shingles with a shimmy and a shake – buttered toast with jam^[16]
• Shit on a shingle – chipped beef and milk gravy served on toast
• Sinker – doughnut
• Skid grease – butter
• Squeal – ham
• Sunny side up – a fried egg cooked on one side
• Sweepings – hash
• Take a chance – hash
• Tube steak – hot dog
• Two dots and a dash – two fried eggs and a strip of bacon^[2]
• Wet mystery – beef stew
• Whiskey down – rye toast
• With the works – with everything on it (for a sandwich)^[15]
• Wreck 'em – scrambled eggs^[3]
• Yard bird – chicken
• Yum yum – sugar

See also

• Coffee shop
• List of restaurant terminology
• Waffle House

Further reading

• DinerLingo.com

Notes and References

1. Book: Chu . K. . Felton . C. . Nelson . D. . Kohler . C. . Good Job, Brain!: Trivia, Quizzes and More Fun From the Popular Pub Quiz Podcast . Ulysses Press . 2016 . 978-1-61243-625-8 . November 5, 2017 . 138.
2. Web site: Patrick . Allan . September 29, 2017 . A Quick Lesson in Essential Diner Lingo . Lifehacker . November 5, 2017.
3. Book: Reinstein, T. . New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories . Globe Pequot Press . 2013 . 978-0-7627-9538-3 . November 5, 2017 . 165.
4. Leykam, Garrison; Classic Diners of Connecticut; History Press Library Editions; Charleston, South Carolina: 2013.
5. Book: Mercuri, B. . American Sandwich . Gibbs Smith . 2009 . 978-1-4236-1192-9 . November 5, 2017 . 114.
6. Book: Zenfell, M.E. . USA on the Road . Langenscheidt Publishers Incorporated . Insight Guide United States: On the Road . 2000 . 978-0-88729-369-6 . November 5, 2017 . 208.
7. News: Mark . Flanagan . December 14, 2002 . Barney's Gets New Lease on Life . The Sun Chronicle . Attleboro, Massachusetts . November 5, 2017.
8. Book: Stern . J. . Stern . M. . Levkulic . T. . Levkulic . J. . The Famous Dutch Kitchen Restaurant Cookbook . Thomas Nelson . 2004 . 978-1-4185-3987-0 . November 5, 2017 . 215.
9. Book: Dolgopolov, Y. . A Dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations . McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers . 2016 . 978-0-7864-5995-7 . November 5, 2017 . 113.
10. Book: Partridge, E. . A Dictionary of the Underworld: British and American . Taylor & Francis . Routledge Revivals: The Selected Works of Eric Partridge . 2015 . 978-1-317-44552-4 . November 5, 2017 . pt760-761.
11. Web site: Ward . Maggie . Common Diner Lingo Phrases and Their Meanings . tasteofhome.com . 1 December 2023 . 20 December 2018.
12. Web site: Kitchen Slang 101: How to Talk Like a Real-Life Line Cook.
13. https://www.dinerlingo.com/dictionary/jayne-mansfield DinerLingo.com – Jayne Mansfield
14. https://qz.com/88453/why-coffee-is-called-joe/ Why coffee is called "joe"
15. Web site: Garrison . Leykam . June 1, 2017 . Diner Lingo: How to Talk Like a Short Order Cook . Connecticut Magazine . November 5, 2017.
16. Web site: Matt . Soniak . September 20, 2012 . Understanding Diner Lingo: 55 Phrases To Get You Started. Mentalfloss.com.