Diner lingo is a kind of American verbal

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-g ...

used by cooks and chefs in diners and diner-style restaurants, and by the

wait staff Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attendin ...

to communicate their orders to the cooks. 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 A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...

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" * Adam and Eve on a raft – two

poached egg A poached egg is an egg that has been cooked, outside the shell, by poaching (or sometimes steaming), as opposed to simmering or boiling. This method of preparation can yield more delicately cooked eggs than cooking at higher temperatures such as ...

s atop toast * Adam's ale – water * Angels on horseback –

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

s wrapped in bacon * Axle grease – butter or margarine * B&B - bread and butterLeykam, Garrison; ''Classic Diners of Connecticut''; History Press Library Editions; Charleston, South Carolina: 2013. * Baled hay – shredded wheat * Bad breath –

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

s * Bark – frankfurter * Battle Creek in a bowl - bowl of corn flakes cereal * Belly warmer –

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

BLT A BLT is a type of sandwich, named for the initials of its primary ingredients, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. It can be made with varying recipes according to personal preference. Simple variants include using different types of lettuce, toastin ...

– bacon/lettuce/tomato sandwich * Biddy board – French toast * Blue plate special * Blowout patches – pancakes * Board – slice of toast * Boiled leaves – hot tea * Bowl of red –

chili con carne Chili con carne (also spelled chilli con carne or chile con carne and shortened to chili or chilli; ), meaning " chili with meat", is a spicy stew containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder), meat (usually beef), tomatoes ...

* Bow wow –

hot dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a f ...

* Brick – biscuit * Bridge/Bridge party – four of anything * Bronx vanilla – garlic; originated in the 1920s. * Bullets – beans * Burn it -

well done Doneness is a gauge of how thoroughly cooked a cut of meat is based on its color, juiciness, and internal temperature. The gradations are most often used in reference to beef (especially steaks and roasts) but are also applicable to other type ...

* Burn the British – toasted English muffin * Cackleberries – eggs * Cats' eyes – tapioca pudding * Checkerboard – waffle * City juice – water * coffee high and dry - black coffee (no cream or sugar) * 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" * Dogs and maggots – crackers and cheese * Drown the kids - boiled eggs * Echo - repeat of the last order * Eve with a lid –

apple pie An apple pie is a fruit pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. The earliest printed recipe is from England. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), or cheddar cheese. It is gene ...

* Fish eyes – tapioca pudding * Foreign entanglements -

spaghetti Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.spaghetti
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridg ...

Greasy spoon A greasy spoon is a small, cheap restaurant – either an American diner or coffee shop, or a British or Irish cafe – typically specializing in fried foods or home-cooked meals. The term ''greasy spoon'' has been used in the United States sinc ...

– slang term for a diner * Guess water - soup * Hemorrhage -

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among o ...

* Hockey puck – a well-done burger * Halitosis – garlic; originated in the 1920s. * Hot blond in sand - coffee with cream and sugar * Hot top –

hot chocolate Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...

chocolate sauce Chocolate syrup is a sweet, chocolate-flavored condiment. It is often used as a topping or dessert sauce for various desserts, such as ice cream, or mixed with milk to make chocolate milk or blended with milk and ice cream to make a chocolate m ...

* In the alley - served as a side dish * In the weeds - overwhelmed * Irish cherries – carrots * Italian perfume – garlic; originated in the 1920s. * Jamoka –

* Java – coffee *

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...

- tall stack of pancakes * Jewish round -

bagel A bagel ( yi, בײגל, translit=beygl; pl, bajgiel; also spelled beigel) is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. It is traditionally shaped by hand into a roughly hand-sized ring from yeasted wheat dough that is first ...

* Joe - coffee * Life preserver – doughnut * Looseners – prunes * Lumber – a toothpick * Machine oil - syrup * Maiden's delight – cherries * Make it cry – add onion * Moo juice – milk * Mug of murk – black coffee * Mully –

beef stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and m ...

* Nervous pudding –

Jell-O Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a ...

* O'Connors – potatoes * On a raft -

Texas toast Texas toast is a toasted bread that is typically made from sliced bread that has been sliced at double the usual thickness of packaged bread. Texas toast is prepared by spreading butter on both sides of the bread and broiling or grilling it unti ...

in place of buns * On the hoof – cooked rare (for any kind of meat) * Punk – bread * Put wheels on it – carry-out order; to go * Rabbit food –

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

* Radio sandwich – tuna fish sandwich *

Ripper Ripper or The Ripper may refer to: People * Ripper (surname) * Paul Burchill, ring name "The Ripper", a professional wrestler based on Jack the Ripper * Kirk Hammett, nicknamed "The Ripper", the lead guitarist in the heavy metal band Metallica ...

– a deep fried hot dog * Rush it –

Russian dressing Russian dressing is a piquant American salad dressing consisting of mayonnaise, ketchup, and other ingredients. Russian dressing is similar to Thousand Island. Some manufactured versions omit the mayonnaise and are clear rather than creamy, ...

* Sand – sugar * Shit on a shingle –

Chipped beef Chipped beef is a form of pressed, salted and dried beef that has been sliced into thin pieces. Some makers smoke the dried beef for more flavor. The modern product consists of small, thin, flexible leaves of partially dried beef, generally sold ...

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 * Wet mystery – beef stew * Whiskey down – rye toast * With the works – with everything on it (for a sandwich) * Wreck 'em – scrambled eggs * Yard bird – chicken * Yum yum – sugar * Shingles with a shimmy and a shake - Buttered toast with jam

History

List of terms

See also

References

Further reading