86 (term)

Eighty-six or 86 is American English slang used to indicate that an item is no longer available, traditionally from a food or drinks establishment; or referring to a person or people who are not welcome in the premises. Its origins are unknown but seem to have been coined in the 1920s or 1930s.

For other uses, see 86 (disambiguation).

The term is now more generally used to get rid of someone or something. In the 1970s, its meaning expanded to refer to murder.[1]

Etymology and meanings
Chumley's at 86 Bedford Street in the West Village

Eighty-six was initially used in restaurants and bars according to most late twentieth-century American slang dictionaries.[2] It is often used in food and drink services to indicate that an item is no longer available or that a customer should be ejected.[2] Beyond this context, it is generally used with the meaning to 'get rid of' someone or something.[2]

According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means to "refuse to serve (a customer)", to "get rid of" or "throw out" someone or something.[3]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it may be used as a noun or verb.[4] As a noun, "In restaurants and bars, an expression indicating that the supply of an item is exhausted, or that a customer is not to be served; also, a customer to be refused service. Also transferred."[4] As a transitive verb derived from the noun, it means "to eject or debar (a person) from premises; to reject or abandon".[4] The OED gives examples of usage from 1933 to 1981.[4] For example, from The Candidate, in which the media adviser said to Robert Redford, "OK, now, for starters, we got to cut your hair and eighty-six the sideburns".[4]

According to Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, the meaning expanded during the 1970s to also mean “to kill, to murder; to execute judicially”.[1][5] This usage was derived from the slang term used in restaurants.[6] Other slang dictionaries confirm this definition.[7][8][6]

There are many theories about the origin of the term but none are certain. It seems to have originated in the 1920s or 1930s. Possible origins include:

  • Rhyming slang for nix.[4]
  • Part of the jargon used by soda jerks. Walter Winchell wrote about this in 1933, in his syndicated On Broadway column.[9] In this, the code 13 meant that a boss was around, 81 was a glass of water and 86 meant "all out of it".[10] Professor Harold Bentley of Columbia University studied soda jerk jargon and reported other numeric codes such as 95 for a customer leaving without paying.[11]
  • Author Jef Klein theorized that the bar Chumley's at 86 Bedford Street in the West Village of Lower Manhattan was the source. His book The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York claims that the police would call Chumley's bar during prohibition before making a raid and tell the bartender to "86" his customers, meaning that they should exit out the 86 Bedford Street door, while the police would come to the Pamela Court entrance.[12]
  • An explanation from 1977 offers that 86th Street stop was the end of the line on the Chicago "L" train, and drunks and derelicts who were still on board would have to exit the train.[13]

Notable uses

In entertainment

In politics
Gretchen Whitmer's display of the "8645" sign, as highlighted by the 2020 Trump presidential campaign

See also

References
  1. Green, Jonathon (2005). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-304-36636-1. 2 [1970s+] (US) to kill, to murder; to execute judicially.
  2. Dundes, Alan (2001). "An Uplifting Origin of 86". American Speech. 76 (4): 437–440. doi:10.1215/00031283-76-4-437. S2CID 143761197.
  3. "Definition of 86 by Merriam-Webster". Merriam-Webster. October 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  4. "eighty-six, n.", Oxford English Dictionary, 1989, retrieved 21 October 2020 (subscription required)
  5. "What Does the Term '86' Mean and Where Did It Come From?". Snopes. 10 March 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  6. Hendrickson, Robert (2008). The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins. Facts On File. ISBN 978-0-8160-6966-8. Eighty-six. To murder someone or put an end to something, [...] The expression derives from the restaurant waiter slang term eighty-six, which, among other things, means to “deny an unwelcome customer service” or to “cancel an order” (“Eighty-six the eggs!”), [...]
  7. Lighter, Jonathan E.; House (Firm), Random (1994). Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang: H-O. Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-43464-1. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  8. Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry (2015-06-26). The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-37251-6. Eighty-six to kill US, 1991
  9. Walter Winchell (24 May 1933), "On Broadway", Akron Beacon Journal
  10. Ben Zimmer (23 June 2018), "A Restaurant 'Eighty-Sixed' Sarah Huckabee Sanders. What Does That Mean?", The Atlantic, archived from the original on 20 October 2020, retrieved 19 October 2020
  11. Bentley, Harold W. (February 1936), "Linguistic Concoctions of the Soda Jerker", American Speech, Duke University Press, 11 (1): 37–45, doi:10.2307/452683, JSTOR 452683, archived from the original on 2020-10-22, retrieved 2020-10-19
  12. Klein, Jef (2006). The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York. Turner Publishing Company.
  13. Mastrangelo, Joseph P. (17 May 1977). "Wherever It Came From, '86' Means Just One Thing at the Bar - You're Out". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  14. Knopper, Steve (1999). MusicHound Swing!: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-57859-091-9.
  15. Douglas Martin (27 September 2005), "Don Adams, Television's Maxwell Smart, Dies at 82", New York Times, archived from the original on 12 September 2020, retrieved 19 October 2020
  16. Texier, Catherien (1989-02-26). "When sex was all that mattered (published 1989)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  17. Feinberg, David B. (1995-11-01). Queer and Loathing: Rants and Raves of a Raging AIDS Clone. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-16171-5.
  18. "Green Day: The Inside Story Of Insomniac". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  19. Case, Wesley (May 3, 2013). "A brief guide to Green Day". The Baltimore Sun. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  20. "Dan Fante, Confronting His Demons On The Page". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  21. Arcland, Rob. "Neon Indian Releases Theme Song for His New Film 86'd". Spin Magazine (21 December 2018). Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  22. Allyn, Bobby (2013-02-18). "Like the Ohio River, a Bridge Project Divides a Community (Published 2013)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  23. "Republican Lawmaker Claims Restaurant's '86 45' Shirts Are Calling for Trump's Murder". VICE. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  24. LeBlanc, Beth. "Whitmer, Trump campaign clash after '8645' seen next to Michigan governor". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  25. "Trump Campaign Is 'Inspiring and Incentivizing' Attacks on Gretchen Whitmer". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  26. Cohen, Ndam (October 26, 2020). "Wikipedia's Plan to Resist Election Day Misinformation". Wired. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  27. Karanth, Sanjana (18 October 2020). "Trump Campaign Doubles Down On Attacks On Gov. Whitmer After Pushback". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  28. Sheth, Sonam. "Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is 'hanging in there' as Trump encourages supporters to 'lock her up' after the FBI thwarted a right-wing plot to kidnap and execute her". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
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