Diner Lingo

After our visit to Kroll's Diner I was curious about diner lingo, as they had a couple of examples on the menu so, tonight I did my search. Please, let me enlighten a nation (or at least a group of us) to the way of the diner. I expect to hear you all ordering like this next time we go anywhere so pay attention!


Soup jockey
Waitress

Ladybug
Fountain Man

Bubble Dancer
Dishwasher

Eighty-six
"Do not sell to that customer" or "The kitchen is out of the item ordered. To remove an item from an order or from the menu."Article 86 of the New York State Liquor Codedefines the circumstances in which a bar patron should be refused alcohol or '86ed'.The Soup Kitchen Theoryduring the depression of the 1930s, soup kitchens would often make just enough soup for 85 people. If you were next in line after number 85, you were '86ed'. The Eight Feet By Six Feet TheoryA coffin is usually eight feet long and is buried six feet under. Once in your coffin you've been 'eight by sixed', which shortens to '86ed'.

Let it walk orGo for a walk orOn wheels
An order to go, a takeaway order.It’s to go

In the alley
Served as a side dish

Lumber
A toothpick

Sea dust
Salt

Mike and Ike orThe twins
Salt and pepper shakers

Hemorrhage
Ketchup

Paint it red
Put ketchup on an item

Lighthouse
Bottle of ketchup

Mississippi Mud orYellow paint
Mustard

Warts
Olives

Java orJoe
Coffee

Draw one, a cup of mud
A cup of coffee

Pair of drawers
Two cups of coffee

Draw one in the Dark orFlowing Mississippi
A black coffee

No cow
Without milk

A blonde with sand
Coffee with cream and sugar

Hot top
Hot chocolate

Boiled leaves
Tea

A spot with a twist
A cup of tea with lemon

Orange juice
Hug one orSqueeze one
A glass of orange juice

Moo juice orCow juice orBaby juice orSweet Alice
Milk

Canned cow
Evaporated milk

Billiard
Buttermilk

Throw it in the mud
Add chocolate syrup

Hail
Ice

Hold the hail
No ice

Windmill Cocktail or Adam's ale orCity juice orDog soup
Glass of water

Shoot from the south orAtlanta special
Coca Cola, probably a reference to the fact that the headquarters of Coca-Cola is in Atlanta, Georgia, and dragging anything is likely to get it muddy, ie, darker, which would be the same result as adding chocolate syrup.Carbonated drinks such as Coca-Cola were originally served by pouring concentrated syrup into a glass and adding soda water, so they could be made to whatever strength the customer preferred.

Drag one through Georgia
Cola with chocolate syrup

An M.D.
A Dr. Pepper

Fifty-five
A glass of root beer

Black and white
Chocolate soda with vanilla ice cream

White Cow
Vanilla milkshake

Shake one in the hay
Strawberry milkshake

Break it and shake it
Add egg to a drink

Life preservers
Doughnuts

Bailed hay
Shredded Wheat

Burn the British
Toasted English muffin

Cow paste orSkid Grease orAxle grease
Butter

Smear
Margarine

C.J. Boston
Cream Cheese and jelly

Raft
Toast

Dough well done with cow to cover
Buttered toast

Shingle with a shimmy and a shake
Buttered toast with jam or jelly, hence the reference to 'shake'.

Wreck ‘em
Scrambled eggs

Fry two, let the sun shine
2 fried eggs with unbroken yolks

sunny side up
The eggs are fried without flipping them, so the yolk looks just like a sun on white background.

Flop two
Two fried eggs over easy
(Flop two) over easy

Deadeye
Poached egg

Adam & Eve on a raft
Two poached eggs on toast

Noah's boy
A slice of ham (Ham was Noah's second son)

Noah’ boy on bread
A ham sandwich

Pigs in a blanket
A ham (sometimes a sausage) sandwich

Radio
Tuna salad sandwich on toast (a pun on "tuna down," which sounds like "turn it down," as one would the radio knob)

High and dry
A plain sandwich without butter, mayonnaise, or lettuce

Rabbit food
Lettuce

Keep off the grass
No lettuce

Breath
Onion

Pin a rose on it
Add onion to an order

Burn one
Put a hamburger on the grill

Hockey puck
A hamburger, well done

Chewed with Fine Breath
Hamburger with onions

Two cows, make them cry
Two hamburgers with onions

Burn one; take it through the garden and pin a rose on it
Hamburger with lettuce, tomato and onion

On the hoof
Any kind of meat cooked rare

Bow-wow orBun pup orTube steak orGroundhog
a hot dog

Coney Island chicken orConey Island
a hot dog, so called because hot dogs were popularly associated with the stands on Coney Island.

Bloodhounds in the Hay
Hot dogs and Sauerkraut

Hounds on an Island
Franks and beans

Frenchman's delight
Pea soup

Frog sticks
French fries

Wax
American cheese

Put out the lights and cry
An order of liver and onions ''Lights" is a term sometimes used for the edible, mainly internal organs of an animal

Splash of red noise
A bowl of tomato soup

Paint a bow-wow red
Gimme a hot dog with ketchup

All hot
Baked potato

Wreath
Cabbage

Nervous pudding
Jello

Shivering Hay
Strawberry Jello

Bucket of cold mud
A bowl of chocolate ice cream

Houseboat or Dagwood Special
A banana split made with ice cream and sliced bananas

Dusty Miller
Chocolate Pudding, sprinkled with powdered malt

Fish eyes or Cat's eyes
Tapioca pudding

So, next time you are out, give this lingo a try and see if anyone knows what the heck you are talking about! Enjoy!