Diner lingo
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. 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. It is virtually unknown outside the US.
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 devices for short-order cooks and staff. Diner lingo was most popular in diners and luncheonettes from the 1920s to the 1970s.[1]
List of terms
A
Adam & Eve on a log: two poached eggs with link sausage[2]
Adam & Eve on a raft: two poached eggs on toast[2]
Adam & Eve on a raft & wreck 'em: two scrambled eggs on toast[2]
Adam & Steve: two sausage links with toast[2]
Adam's ale: water[2]
All day: altogether[2]
All hot: baked potato[2]
All The Way: Hot Wiener with mustard, meat sauce, onions, and celery salt
Angels on Horseback: oysters rolled in bacon and served on toast[2]
Atlanta [Special]: Coca-Cola (since the company is based in Atlanta, Georgia)[2]
Arnold Palmer: Half sweet tea, half lemonade
Axle grease: butter[2] see also Cow paste and Skid grease
B
B & B: bread and butter[2]
B.L.T.: bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich
Baby: glass of milk
Baled hay: shredded wheat cereal[2]
Balloon juice/Belch water/Alka Seltzer: seltzer, soda water[2]
Battle Creek in a bowl: bowl of corn flakes cereal (from the hometown of the Kellogg Company, Battle Creek, Michigan)[2]
Beagle Fingers: sausage links
Beef stick: bone[2]
Betty Ford: a single order of the chicken breast dish
Biddy board: french toast[2]
Billiard: buttermilk
Bird: chicken[2]
Birdseed: breakfast
Birds in a nest: a fried egg on toast with a hole cut out of the center[2]
Black and blue: a steak cooked quickly over very high heat so that it is seared (black) on the outside and rare (blue) on the inside[2]
Black and white: chocolate soda with vanilla ice cream[2]
Black cow: (a) chocolate milk or (b) chocolate soda with chocolate ice cream (or) (c) a soda made with chocolate ice cream and root beer[2]
Blindfolded: basted egg[2]
Bloodhounds in the hay: hot dogs and sauerkraut
Bloody: very rare
Blue-plate special: a dish of meat, potato, and vegetable served on a plate (usually blue) sectioned in three parts (can also refer to the daily special)
Boiled leaves: tea[2]
Bow-wow/Bun pup[2]/Tube steak/Groundhog: a hot dog
Bowl of red: a bowl of chili con carne (so called for its deep red color)[2]
Break it and shake it: add egg to a drink[2]
Breath: onion
Bridge/Bridge party: four of anything (from the card game bridge)
Bronx vanilla/Halitosis/Italian Garlic: garlic
Bubble Dancer: dishwasher
Bucket of cold mud: a bowl of chocolate ice cream
Bullets/Whistleberries/Saturday night: baked beans (so called because of the supposed flatulence they cause)
Burn one: (a) put a hamburger on the grill, or (b) with a BLT, to cook the bacon very crisp, as in "BLT, burn one"
Burn one, take it through the garden and pin a rose on it: hamburger with lettuce, tomato and onion
Burn the British: toasted English muffin
C
C-board: prepared to take-out (in cardboard)[2]
C.J. Boston: cream cheese and jelly
C.J. White: cream cheese and jelly on white bread[2]
Cackle fruit/Cackleberries: eggs[2]
Cackleberries out west: western omelette[2]
Campers - customers who "camp out" at a table, taking it up for an extended amount of time. This causes the servers to lose money because they cannot "turn the table."
Canned cow: evaporated milk[2]
Cats heads and easy diggins: biscuits and gravy[2]
Check the ice: look at the pretty girl who just came in
Chewed with fine breath: hamburger with onions
Chicks on a raft: Eggs on Toast
China: rice pudding
Chopper: a table knife
Chokies: artichokes[2]
Chortle Stew: Beef broth with olives[2]
Chuds: diners who take up an entire table and drink only coffee
Clean up the kitchen: hash
Coffee dry: coffee with sugar only (no cream)[2]
Coffee high and dry: coffee with no cream or sugar (a.k.a. "black")[2]
Coffee high: coffee with cream only (no sugar)[2]
Coffee regular: coffee with cream and sugar[2]
Coney Island chicken/Coney Island bloodhound/Coney Island:[2] a hot dog (so called because hot dogs were popularly associated with the stands on Coney Island)
Cops & Robbers Donuts and Coffee.
Cow feed: a salad
Cow paste: butter[2] see also Axle grease and Skid grease
Cowboy coffee: coffee made with all chicory[2]
Cowboy Western: a western omelette or sandwich
Cowboy with spurs: western omelette with french fries[2]
Creep: draft beer
Cremate it: toast the bread[2]
Crowd: three of anything (possibly from the saying "Two's company, three's a crowd")
Cryin' Johnny: burger with extra onions
Cup o' joe:[2] a cup of coffee
Cup of mud: a cup of coffee
Customer Service: attractive table
Customer will take a chance: hash
D
Deadeye: poached egg[2]
Dog and maggot: cracker and cheese
Dog biscuit: a cracker
Dog soup: water
Dolly Parton: two orders of the chicken breast dish
Don't cry over it: omit the onions[2]
Double black cow: double-thick chocolate shake[2]
Dough well done with cow to cover: bread and butter[2]
Down: on toast
Drag it through the garden: a hamburger, hotdog, sandwich or similar with all condiments (vegetables) on it[2]
Drag one through Georgia: Coca-Cola with chocolate syrup
Drag one through Wisconsin: serve with cheese (e.g. a cheeseburger)[2]
Draw one/A cup of mud: a cup of coffee
Draw one in the dark/flowing Mississippi: a black coffee
Drop two: two poached eggs[2]
Drown the kids: boiled eggs[2]
Dry: a hamburger, hotdog, sandwich or similar without butter, mayonnaise or other dressing (or an Italian beef sandwich without the meat juices)
Dry stack: pancakes without butter[2]
Dusty miller: chocolate pudding, sprinkled with powdered malt
Dish dog: dishwasher
E
Eggs up: two eggs fried on one side, unflipped with unbroken yolks which are generally runny (i.e. sunny side up) see also Fry two, let the sun shine
Eggs over easy: two eggs fried on both sides, with unbroken yolks
Egg o' Biscuit: biscuit with egg
Eighty-six (86): remove a dish from an order or from the menu (as when the kitchen is out of something)[2]
Eve with a lid on: apple pie (referring to the biblical Eve's tempting of Adam with an apple, the "lid" is the pie crust)
Eve with a moldy lid: apple pie with a slice of cheese[2]
F
Fifty-five: a glass of root beer
Firehouse it: add chili sauce to a dish[2]
First lady: spare ribs (based on the creation of the biblical Eve from Adam's rib)[2]
Fish eyes or Cat's eyes: tapioca pudding
Flop two: two fried eggs, over easy[2]
Flop two, over easy: fried eggs, flipped over carefully, with the yolk very runny
Flop two, over medium: fried eggs, flipped over, with the yolk beginning to solidify
Flop two, over hard: fried eggs, flipped over, with the yolk solid all the way through
Fly cake/Roach cake: raisin cake or huckleberry pie
Foreign entanglements: spaghetti[2]
Four on two over easy: Two orders of eggs over easy
Frenchman's delight: pea soup
Frog sticks: french fries
Fry two, let the sun shine: two eggs fried on one side, unflipped with unbroken yolks which are generally runny (i.e. sunny side up)[2] see also Eggs up
G
GAC: grilled American cheese sandwich (also called "jack", from the pronunciation of "GAC")
GAC Tommy: grilled American cheese sandwich (also called "jack", from the pronunciation of "GAC") with tomato
Gallery: booth
Gentleman will take a chance: Plate of hash
Georgia pie: peach pie[2]
Give it wings: To be served quickly "Coney Island, and give it wings!"
Gravel train: sugar bowl
Graveyard stew: milk toast (buttered toast, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, and dropped into a bowl of warm milk)
Guess water: soup[2]
H
Hamlet's Problem: a Danish and 2 poached eggs with hot sauce
Hail: ice
Hatching it: a fried egg on toast with a hole cut out of the center[2] see also Birds in a nest
Heart attack on rack: biscuits and gravy
Hemorrhage: tomato ketchup
Hen fruit or hen nuts: eggs[2] (sometimes boiled eggs)
High and dry: a plain sandwich without butter, mayonnaise, or lettuce
Hoboken special: pineapple soda with chocolate ice cream[2]
Hockey puck: a hamburger, well done
Hojack: buttered toast[2]
Hold the hail: no ice
Hold the grass: sandwich without lettuce[2]
Honeymoon salad: lettuce alone
Hope: oatmeal[2]
Hot balls: matzah ball soup
Hot blonde in sand: coffee with cream and sugar[2] see also Coffee regular
Hot one: bowl of chili con carne[2] see also Bowl of red
Hot top: hot chocolate[2]
Hounds on an island: franks and beans[2]
Houseboat[2]/Dagwood Special: a banana split
Hug one[2]/Squeeze one: a glass of orange juice
I
Ice the rice: rice pudding with ice cream
Indie/Indiana Jones/Indy J.: a table that arrives just before closing time; the name stems from Indiana Jones grabbing his hat from under a closing door, as the customers snatch their orders from a nearly closing restaurant.
In the alley: served as a side dish
In the weeds: a waitress/cook that cannot keep up with the tables or orders
Irish turkey: corned beef and cabbage
J
Jack Benny: cheese with bacon (named after Jack Benny, the comedian) [[3]]
Jackson Hole Shooters: potato cakes or tater tots covered in white gravy and chopped or diced onion
Jawa/Java/Joe: coffee
Jewish Round: a bagel
Johnny Tremain, Make It British: a chicken breast, covered with (or with a side of) marinara
K
Keep off the grass: no lettuce
Kettle Ploppers: Vegetables fried in old grease
L
Ladybug: fountain man
LEO: lox, eggs and onion, usually served as an omelete. Common in New York City.
Let it walk/Go for a walk/On wheels/Give it shoes: an order to go, a takeaway order
Life preservers/Sinkers: doughnuts
Lighthouse: salt shaker
Lil' Scooters: small sausage patties
Looseners: prunes (so called because of their supposed laxative effect)
Love apples: tomatoes
LTO: lettuce, tomato, onion
Lumber: a toothpick
M
An M.D./Doc: a Dr Pepper
Machine oil: syrup
Magoo: custard pie
Maiden's delight: cherries
Make it cry: with onions
Make it pucker: with lemon
Marry: consolidate food in same containers, e.g. pouring ketchup from half-filled bottles into other bottles to make full bottles
Mayo: mayonnaise
Midnight Whistleberries: black beans
Mike and Ike/The twins: salt and pepper shakers
Million on a platter: a plate of baked beans
Mississippi mud/Yellow paint: mustard
Moo/Moo juice/Cow juice/Baby juice/Sweet Alice: milk
Monkey dish: a side plate about the size of a small saucer
Mother and child reunion: chicken and egg sandwich
Motor Oil: Maple Syrup
Mouse trap: grilled cheese sandwich.
Muddy Moo: Chocolate Milk.
Mully/Bossy in a bowl: beef stew (so called because "Bossy" was a common name for a cow)
A Murphy: a potato
Mystery in the alley: a side order of hash
N
Nervous pudding: American jelly
No cow: without milk
Noah's boy: a slice of ham (Ham was Noah's second son)
Noah's boy on bread: a ham sandwich
Noah's boy with Murphy carrying a wreath: ham and potatoes with cabbage
O
On a rail: fast (as in "Fries, on a rail!")
On the fly: as soon as possible
On the hoof: any kind of meat, cooked rare
One from the Alps: a Swiss cheese sandwich
One on the city: a glass of water
P
Paint it red: put ketchup on a sandwich or dish
Pair of drawers: two cups of coffee
Pearl Diver: dishwasher
Peel it off the wall: add a leaf of lettuce
Pigs in a blanket: sausages wrapped in pancakes
Pin a rose on it: add onion to a dish
Pittsburgh: something burning, toasted or charred
Plate o' dicks: a plate of sausages
Plop & Drop: a regular customer whose order is always the same
Pope Benedict: an eggs benedict
Put a hat on it: add ice cream
Put out the lights and cry: an order of liver and onions
Q
Quail: Hungarian goulash
R
Rabbit food: lettuce
Radio sandwich: tuna fish sandwich (From the joke: "You can tune a radio, but you can't tune a {tuna} fish.")
Raft: toast, or when used with burgers, a toasted bun
Ram it & Cram it a hamburger with no bun
Run it through the garden: any sandwich, usually a hamburger, with lettuce, tomato and onion added
S
Sad Babies: a table with no coffee creamer
Seaboard: to go
Sea dust: salt
Schmeer: cream cheese, usually on a bagel
Shake one in the hay: strawberry milkshake
Shingle with a shimmy and a shake: buttered toast with jam or jelly
Shit on a shingle/S.O.S.: minced dried beef with gravy on toast (it was a reviled and loved standard fare in army messes)
Shivering hay: strawberry gelatin
Shoot from the south/Atlanta special: Coca-Cola (probably a reference to the fact that the headquarters of Coca-Cola is in Atlanta, Georgia)
Shot out of the blue bottle: Bromo-Seltzer
Sinkers n' Suds: Doughnuts & Coffee
Slab of moo, let him chew it: rare round steak
Sleigh ride special: vanilla pudding
Soup jockey: waitress
Spit in the eye: a egg fried in the center of a holed out piece of bread
Splash of red noise: a bowl of tomato soup
A spot with a twist: a cup of tea with lemon
Stack/Short stack: order of pancakes
A stack of Vermont: pancakes with maple syrup
Stretch one: Coca-Cola
Sun kiss/Oh jay (O.J.): orange juice
Sunny-side up: eggs fried without flipping them, so the yolk looks just like a sun on white background
Sweep the kitchen/Sweepings/Clean up the kitchen: a plate of hash
T
Take it to Sloptown: combining multiple sides on a plate (e.g., adding corn to mashed potatoes, gravy to carrots etc.)
The works: a hamburger, hotdog, sandwich or similar with all condiments on it
Throw it in the mud: add chocolate syrup
Throw One, Throw Two, etc.: to "throw" an egg (2 eggs, 3 eggs etc.) onto the grill (as in "Throw two Over Easy)
To sell: to finish the plate
Toad in a hole: a fried egg on toast with a hole cut out of the center[4] see also Birds in a nest
Tube steak: frankfurter
Twelve alive in a shell: a dozen raw oysters
Two cows, make them cry: Two hamburgers with onions
V
Vermont: maple syrup
W
Walk a cow through the garden: hamburger with lettuce, tomato and onion
Walk-in: cooler in the back of house where food items are stored; not the freezer
Walking: to go
Walking in: a new order just arriving in the kitchen.
Warts: olives
Wax: American cheese
Well-dressed diner: codfish
We've got a gambler in the house: Hash
Whiskey: rye bread
Whiskey down: rye toast
Whistle berries: baked beans
White cow: vanilla milkshake
Why bother: Decaffeinated coffee with non-fat milk
Winnie Palmer: Half sweet tea, half lemonade
Wreath: cabbage
Wreck 'em: scrambled eggs
Y
Yesterday, today, and forever: hash
Yum Yum/Sand: sugar
Yellow Paint: mustard
Z
Zeppelin: sausage
Zeppelins in a fog: sausages and mashed potatoes
See also
References
- ↑ "Learn to speak diner lingo!". Dinerlingo.com. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 2.40 2.41 2.42 2.43 2.44 2.45 2.46 2.47 2.48 2.49 2.50 2.51 2.52 2.53 2.54 2.55 2.56 2.57 2.58 2.59 2.60 2.61 2.62 2.63 2.64 2.65 2.66 2.67 2.68 2.69 2.70 2.71 2.72 2.73 2.74 2.75 2.76 2.77 2.78 "Diner Talk from the Swing Era". Retrieved September 12, 2011.
- ↑ The Village Voice - Google News Archive Search
- ↑ "Toad In a Hole". Retrieved August 19, 2014.
Further reading
The History of Diner Lingo and New York Eating Houses research & glossary by Barbara Kuck, Culinary Historian & Curator, Chicago Culinary Museum and Chefs Hall of Fame and Tom Roberts, Szathmáry Distinguished Visiting Professor of Gastronomy