Eighty-six the Adam and Eve on a Raft . . . Twist It, Choke It, Make it Cackle

[rootbeer1]

Lunch counter lingo -- what fast-talking diner waitresses snapped to hardbitten cooks back in old-fashioned greasy spoons -- has always intrigued me, and I was gratified to find several glossaries online. It just makes mealtime so much more fun . . .

BAD

qbear: "I'll take eggs and toast, and coffee."

GOOD

rootbeer1: "Scrape two cackleberries and burn the British, gentleman will take a chance and moo juice. For dinner, Bossy in a bowl, dough well done with cow to cover in the alley, stretch one and paint it red."

(That's two scrambled eggs with toasted English muffin, hash and a glass of milk. For dinner, beef stew, buttered toast on the side, and a cherry coke.)



Adam and Eve on a raft................Two poached eggs on toast
Adam's ale........................Plain water
All Day...........................Altogether
All Hot...........................Baked potato
An M..D.. ..........................Dr.. Pepper
Angels on Horseback................Oysters rolled in bacon, served on toast
Atlanta [Special]....................Coca Cola
Axle grease or skid grease............Butter
B and B............................Bread and butter
Baby, Sweet Alice, cow juice........Milk
Baled Hay........................Shredded wheat
Balloon Juice....................Seltzer water
Beef Stick........................A bone
Belch water........................Seltzer or soda water
Biddy Board........................French toast
Birdseed........................Cereal
Black and White....................Chocolate soda with vanilla ice cream
Black Cow........................Chocolate milk, or chocolate soda
Blowout Patches....................Pancakes
Blue-plate special................Meat, potato, vegetable on a 3-section plate
Boiled Leaves....................Tea
Bossy in a bowl....................Beef stew
Bowl of red........................A bowl of chili con carne
Bowwow.............................A hot dog
Break it and Shake it................Add egg to a drink
Breath.............................An onion
Bridge or bridge party................Four of anything
Broken Henberries ................Scrambled eggs (or Busted)
Bullets............................Baked beans, also called "whistleberries"
Bun pup...........................A hot dog
Burn one..........................Put a hamburger on the grill
Burn the British....................A toasted English muffin
C..J.. White........................Cream cheese and jelly on white bread
Cackleberries ....................Eggs
Canned Cow........................Evaporated milk
Cat’s eyes or fish eyes................Tapioca
Cats Heads and Easy Diggins............Biscuits and Gravy
Chicago..........................Pineapple sundae
China............................Rice pudding
Chokies..........................Artichokes
Chopper...........................A table knife
City juice........................Water
Clean up the kitchen................Hash or hamburger
Coffee Regular ....................Coffee with a cream and two sugars
Coney Island chicken ................A hot dog
Cow feed..........................A salad
Cow Paste........................Butter
Cowboy............................A western omelet or sandwich
Cowboy coffee ....................Coffee made with all chicory
Cowboy with Spurs.................Western omelet with French fries
Creep............................Draft beer
Cremate It........................Toast the bread
Crowd............................Three of anything
Deadeye........................Poached egg
Dog and maggot....................Cracker and cheese
Dog biscuit..........................Cracker
Dog's body...........................Pea soup with flour or hardtack
Dough Well Done With Cow to Cover.....Buttered toast
Down................................Means "on toast", with white bread
Drag One Through Georgia............Pepsi with chocolate syrup
Draw................................To dispense a beverage on tap
Draw One.............................Coffee
Drop two............................Two poached eggs
Eighty-six (86)....................“Do not sell to that customer"
Eighty-six (86)....................“Kitchen is out of that item ordered”
Eve with a lid on ................Apple pie
Fifty-five........................A glass of root beer
First lady........................Spareribs
Flop Two............................Two fried eggs, over easy
Fly cake or roach cake................A raisin cake or huckleberry pie
Frenchman's delight................Pea soup
Frog sticks........................French fries
Fry Two, Let the Sun Shine............Fry two eggs with yolks unbroken
GAC.................................Grilled American cheese sandwich
Gentleman will take a chance............Hash
Georgia Pie........................Peach pie
Go for a walk.......................An order to be packed and taken out
Gravel train.......................Sugar bowl
Graveyard stew....................Milk toast
Groundhog........................Hot dog
Guess Water........................Soup
Hemorrhage........................Ketchup
Hen Fruit........................Eggs
Hen Nuts ........................Eggs
Henberries ........................Eggs
High and dry......................Sandwich without butter, mayo or lettuce
Hi-test ..........................Coffee black
Hoboken Special....................Pineapple soda with chocolate ice cream
Hold the Grass....................Sandwich without lettuce
Hope............................Oatmeal
Hot One...........................Bowl of chili
Hot Top...........................Hot chocolate
Hounds on an Island................Frankfurters and beans
Houseboat........................Banana split
Hug One..........................Orange juice
Ice on Rice........................Rice pudding with ice cream
In the alley....................Serve as a side dish
Irish turkey....................Corned beef and cabbage
Jack Benny........................Cheese and bacon sandwich
Java or joe........................Coffee
Life Preservers....................Doughnuts
Lighthouse........................Bottle of ketchup
Looseners..........................Prunes
Lumber............................A toothpick
Maiden's delight....................Cherries
Make it Moo ......................Rare steak
Mama on a Raft....................Marmalade on toast
Mike and Ike or the twins............Salt and pepper shakers
Million on a Platter................Baked beans
Mississippi Mud....................Mustard
Moo juice........................Milk
Mud or Omurk......................Black coffee
Murphy..............................Potatoes
Nervous Pudding ....................Jello
No cow.............................Without milk
Noah's boy........................A slice of ham
Noah's boy on bread ................Ham sandwich
On the hoof........................Meat done rare
On wheels...........................An order to be packed and taken out
One from the Alps....................Swiss cheese sandwich
Paint a bow-wow red ................Hot dog with ketchup
Pair of drawers....................Two cups of coffee
Pigs ............................Bacon
Pink Stick........................Strawberry ice cream
Pittsburgh........................Toast or something burning
Popeye.............................Spinach
Put a Hat on It....................Add ice cream
Put Out the Lights and Cry.........Liver and onions
Rabbit Food........................Lettuce
Radio...............................A tuna-fish-salad sandwich on toast
Sand................................Sugar
Scrape two ........................Two scrambled eggs
Sea dust...........................Salt
Shake one in the Hay................Strawberry milkshake
Shivering Eve.......................Apple jelly
Sinkers............................Doughnuts
Sinkers and suds....................Doughnuts and coffee
Sneeze.............................Pepper
Splash of Red Noise................Bowl of tomato soup
Splash out of the Garden ............Bowl of vegetable soup
Squeeze.............................Orange Juice
Stretch One and Paint it Red .......Coca-Cola with a cherry
Stretch............................Coca-Cola
Suthun coffee ....................Half coffee, half chicory
Swamp water .......................Soda made of all flavors available
Sweep the Kitchen....................Plate of hash
Throw it in the mud..................Add chocolate syrup
Twist It, Choke It, Make it Cackle.....Chocolate malted milkshake with egg
Vermont.............................Maple syrup
Warts..............................Olives
Wax...............................American cheese
Whiskey Down.......................Rye Toast
Wimpy...............................Hamburger
With legs; put legs on it ............To go
Wreath..............................Cabbage
Wreck..............................Scramble
Wreck 'em........................Scramble the eggs
Yellow Paint.......................Mustard
Yum-yum...........................Sugar
Zeppelins in a fog................Sausages in mashed potatoes

Comments

[jrjarrett.livejournal.com]

*shakes head*

Yer strange.

But that's why I like ya ;)

[trwheaton.livejournal.com]

Never knew diner dames had their own slang. Wicked pissah!

[bearringsd.livejournal.com]

I like this! Pretty cool post, bud!

[beeftenderloin.livejournal.com]

Fun! You dig up the weirdest stuff.

[rootbeer1.livejournal.com]

The best place to hear this sort of old slang is in old movies or TV shows from the '40s to the early '60s ... I think old TV comedies (like I Love Lucy) occasionally had a plot where someone was forced to work in a cheap greasy spoon, and had to learn how to shout back orders to the cook (using the lingo).

Nice!

[mindplay.livejournal.com]

Years ago I was in a truck stop outside New Orleans one evening getting some grub for my road wrecked self and was fascinated with the lingo the waitresses and cooks were using to describe my order. I had totally forgotten about that until reading your post.

Next time I'll know to order Flop Two, Mama on a Raft, Sweep the Kitchen, Stretch One and Paint it Red.

Re: Nice!

[rootbeer1.livejournal.com]

Cool! I wasn't even sure this slang was still in use.

I'll take zeppelins in a fog, whistleberries in the alley, draw one.

[dacubsf.livejournal.com]

I've run across the waitress lingo before. usually in old roadside diners or truckstops. Which usually have some of the best food. Haven't heard the lingo anywhere in a long time. Was this some place in the city that you heard this? If so where. and how was the food. Would be fun to go check out. especially if the food was decent

[rootbeer1.livejournal.com]

Nope, didn't hear it in the city. qbear had mentioned "Adam and Eve on a raft" last week, which got me to thinking about it.

[dacubsf.livejournal.com]

Darn... I was kind of hoping you two had popped into some greasy spoon in the city somewhere and heard the lingo going on. I thought it would have been a way to throw some fun into an afternoon one day.

Adam and Eve

[ricksf.livejournal.com]

I'm totally in awe of your ability to dredge up all the hash lingo. And I thought I was a hot ticket recalling "Adam and Eve on a raft, wreck em!"...