Diner lingo

Salem Diner in Salem, Massachusetts, US

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] [2]} 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. ^[3]

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, ^[3] but are helpful mnemonic devices for short-order cooks and staff. ^[2] Some of the terms are pre-existing slang, such as "Adam's ale" for water. Diner lingo was most popular in diners and luncheonettes from the 1920s to the 1970s. ^{[4] [2]}

List of terms

"Adam and Eve on a raft" – two poached eggs on toast

"Take a chance" – corned beef hash

• 86 – omit from an order; "hold" ^[5]
• Adam and Eve on a raft – two poached eggs atop toast ^{[6] [7]}
• Adam's ale – water ^[7]
• Angels on horseback – oysters wrapped in bacon ^[8]
• Axle grease – butter or margarine ^{[3] [8]}
• B&B – bread and butter ^[9]
• Baled hay – shredded wheat ^{[2] [7]}
• Bad breath – onions ^[8]
• Bark – frankfurter ^[8]
• Battle Creek in a bowl – bowl of corn flakes cereal; Battle Creek, Michigan is the birthplace of breakfast cereal ^[9]
• Belly warmer – coffee ^[8]
• BLT – bacon/lettuce/tomato sandwich ^{[7] [10]}
• Biddy board – French toast; ^[9] "biddy" was a slang term for hens ^[11]
• Blue plate special – a discount-priced meal that usually changes daily ^[7]
• Blowout patches – pancakes ^[9]
• Board – slice of toast ^[8]
• Boiled leaves – hot tea ^{[7] [12]}
• Bowl of red – chili con carne ^[9]
• Bow wow – hot dog ^[7]
• Brick – biscuit ^[8]
• Bridge/Bridge party – four of anything ^[9]
• Bronx vanilla – garlic; originated in the 1920s.
• Bullets – beans ^[3]
• Burn it – well done
• Burn the British – toasted English muffin ^[9]
• Cackleberries – eggs ^{[13] [8]}
• Cats' eyes – tapioca pudding ^[14]
• Checkerboard – waffle ^[9]
• City juice – water (because water is supplied by the city) ^[8]
• Coffee high and dry – black coffee (no cream or sugar) ^[9]
• Cowboy with spurs – western omelette with fries
• Cow paste – butter ^[3]
• Dead eye – poached egg ^[7]
• 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 ^[8]
• Drown the kids – boiled eggs ^[9]
• Echo – repeat of the last order ^[9]
• Eve with a lid – apple pie, alluding to the forbidden fruit ^{[3] [15]}
• Fish eyes – tapioca pudding ^{[7] [16]}
• Foreign entanglements – spaghetti ^[9]
• Greasy spoon – slang term for a diner ^[4]
• Guess water – soup ^[9]
• Hemorrhage – ketchup ^[9]
• Hockey puck – a well-done burger ^{[3] [7]}
• Halitosis – garlic; originated in the 1920s. ^[7]
• Hot blond in sand – coffee with cream and sugar ^[9]
• Hot top – hot chocolate or chocolate sauce ^{[7] [8]}
• Houseboat – banana split ^[17]
• In the alley – served as a side dish ^[9]
• In the weeds – overwhelmed ^[18]
• Irish cherries – carrots ^[8]
• Italian perfume – garlic; originated in the 1920s.
• Jamoka – coffee (blend of java and mocha) ^[8]
• Java – coffee ^[19]
• Jayne Mansfield – tall stack of pancakes ^[20]
• Jewish round – bagel ^[9]
• Joe – coffee ^[21]
• Life preserver – doughnut ^{[3] [7]}
• Looseners – prunes ^[8]
• Lumber – a toothpick ^{[3] [8]}
• Let it swim - extra sauce
• Machine oil – syrup ^[9]
• Maiden's delight – cherries ^[8]
• Make it cry – add onion ^[7]
• Moo juice – milk ^[7]
• Mug of murk – black coffee ^[8]
• Mully – beef stew, from "mulligatawny" ^[22]
• Nervous pudding – Jell-O ^[8]
• O'Connors – potatoes, alluding to their association with Ireland ^[8]
• On a raft – Texas toast in place of buns
• On the hoof – cooked rare (for any kind of meat) ^[23]
• Punk – bread ^[8]
• Put wheels on it – carry-out order; to go ^[13]
• Rabbit food – lettuce ^[7]
• Radio sandwich – tuna fish sandwich ^{[2] [8]}
• Ripper – a deep fried hot dog
• Rush it – Russian dressing ^[8]
• Sand – sugar ^[7]
• Shingles with a shimmy and a shake – buttered toast with jam ^[24]
• Shit on a shingle (S.O.S.) – chipped beef and milk gravy served on toast
• Sinker – doughnut ^[8]
• Skid grease – butter ^[22]
• Squeal – ham ^[8]
• Sunny side up – a fried egg cooked on one side ^[7]
• Sweepings – hash ^[7]
• Take a chance – hash ^[8]
• Tube steak – hot dog ^[7]
• Two dots and a dash – two fried eggs and a strip of bacon ^[5]
• Wet mystery – beef stew ^[8]
• Whiskey down – rye toast ^[7]
• With the works – with everything on it (for a sandwich) ^[23]
• Wreck 'em – scrambled eggs ^{[6] [7]}
• Yard bird – chicken ^[8]
• Yum yum – sugar ^[8]

See also

• Society portal
• Food portal
• Language portal

• List of restaurant terminology

References

1. Chu, K.; Felton, C.; Nelson, D.; Kohler, C. (2016). Good Job, Brain!: Trivia, Quizzes and More Fun From the Popular Pub Quiz Podcast. Ulysses Press. p. 138. ISBN   978-1-61243-625-8 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
2. Grimes, W. (2004). Eating Your Words: 2000 Words to Tease Your Taste Buds. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 209–210. ISBN   978-0-19-517406-9 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
3. Stern, J.; Stern, M. (2011). Lexicon of Real American Food. Lyons Press. p. 95. ISBN   978-0-7627-6830-1 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
4. Albala, K. (2015). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Food Issues. SAGE Publications. p. 364. ISBN   978-1-4522-4301-6 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
5. Allan, Patrick (September 29, 2017). "A Quick Lesson in Essential Diner Lingo". Lifehacker. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
6. Reinstein, T. (2013). New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories. Globe Pequot Press. p. 165. ISBN   978-0-7627-9538-3 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
7. Kolpas, N. (2005). Practically Useless Information on Food and Drink. Thomas Nelson. pp. 92–94. ISBN   978-1-4185-5389-0 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
8. Smith, A. (2013). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. OUP USA. p. 2-PA269. ISBN   978-0-19-973496-2 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
9. Leykam, Garrison; Classic Diners of Connecticut; History Press Library Editions; Charleston, South Carolina: 2013.
10. Mercuri, B. (2009). American Sandwich. Gibbs Smith. p. 114. ISBN   978-1-4236-1192-9 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
11. "Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words". Dictionary.com.
12. Zenfell, M.E. (2000). USA on the Road. Insight Guide United States: On the Road. Langenscheidt Publishers Incorporated. p. 208. ISBN   978-0-88729-369-6 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
13. Flanagan, Mark (December 14, 2002). "Barney's Gets New Lease on Life". The Sun Chronicle. Attleboro, Massachusetts. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
14. Stern, J.; Stern, M.; Levkulic, T.; Levkulic, J. (2004). The Famous Dutch Kitchen Restaurant Cookbook. Thomas Nelson. p. 215. ISBN   978-1-4185-3987-0 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
15. Dolgopolov, Y. (2016). A Dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 113. ISBN   978-0-7864-5995-7 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
16. Partridge, E. (2015). A Dictionary of the Underworld: British and American. Routledge Revivals: The Selected Works of Eric Partridge. Taylor & Francis. pp. pt760-761. ISBN   978-1-317-44552-4 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
17. Ward, Maggie (20 December 2018). "Common Diner Lingo Phrases and Their Meanings". tasteofhome.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
18. "Kitchen Slang 101: How to Talk Like a Real-Life Line Cook". First We Feast.
19. Horberry, R. (2010). Sounds Good on Paper: How to Bring Business Language to Life. A&C Black. p. 17. ISBN   978-1-4081-2231-0 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
20. "Diner Lingo: Jayne Mansfield". www.dinerlingo.com.
21. "Why coffee is called "joe"". Quartz. May 28, 2013.
22. Witzel, M.K. (2006). The American Diner. MBI classics. MBI Publishing Company LLC. p. 92. ISBN   978-0-7603-2434-9 . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
23. Leykam, Garrison (June 1, 2017). "Diner Lingo: How to Talk Like a Short Order Cook". Connecticut Magazine. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
24. Soniak, Matt (September 20, 2012). "Understanding Diner Lingo: 55 Phrases To Get You Started". Mentalfloss.com.

Further reading

• DinerLingo.com