Diner lingo

Diner lingo
Salem Diner in Salem, Massachusetts, USA

Diner lingo is a kind of American verbal slang used by cooks and chefs in diners and diner-style restaurants, and by the waitresses to communicate their orders to the cooks. It is virtually unknown outside the US.

Contents

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.

List of terms

A

Adam & Eve on a log: two poached eggs with link sausage[1]

Adam & Eve on a raft: two poached eggs on toast[1]

Adam & Eve on a raft & wreck 'em: two scrambled eggs on toast[1]

Adam's ale: water[1]

All day: altogether[1]

All hot: baked potato[1]

Angels on Horseback: oysters rolled in bacon and served on toast[1]

Atlanta [Special]: Coca-Cola (since the company is based in Atlanta, Georgia)[1]

Arnold Palmer: Half sweet tea, half lemonade

Axle grease: butter[1] see also Cow paste and Skid grease

B

B & B: bread and butter[1]

B.L.T.: bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich

Baby: glass of milk

Baled hay: shredded wheat cereal[1]

Balloon juice/Belch water/Alka Seltzer: seltzer, soda water[1]

Battle Creek in a bowl: bowl of corn flakes cereal (from the hometown of the Kellogg Company, Battle Creek, Michigan)[1]

Beef stick: bone[1]

Biddy board: french toast[1]

Billiard: buttermilk

Bird: chicken[1]

Birdseed: breakfast

Birds in a nest: a fried egg on toast with a hole cut out of the center[1]

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[1]

Black and white: chocolate soda with vanilla ice cream[1]

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[1]

Blindfolded: basted egg[1]

Bloodhounds in the hay: hot dogs and sauerkraut

Bloody: very rare

Blowout patches: pancakes[1]

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[1]

Bossy in a bowl: beef stew[1]

Bow-wow/Bun pup[1]/Tube steak/Groundhog: a hot dog

Bowl of red: a bowl of chili con carne (so called for its deep red color)[1]

Break it and shake it: add egg to a drink[1]

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: put a hamburger on the grill

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)[1]

C.J. Boston: cream cheese and jelly

C.J. White: cream cheese and jelly on white bread[1]

Cackle fruit/Cackleberries: eggs[1]

Cackleberries out west: western omelette[1]

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[1]

Cats heads and easy diggins: biscuits and gravy[1]

Check the ice: look at the pretty girl who just came in

Checkerboard: waffle[1]

Chewed with fine breath: hamburger with onions

Chicago: pineapple sundae[1]

China: rice pudding

Chopper: a table knife

Chokies: artichokes[1]

Clean up the kitchen: hash

Coffee dry: coffee with sugar only (no cream)[1]

Coffee high and dry: coffee with no cream or sugar (a.k.a. "black")[1]

Coffee high: coffee with cream only (no sugar)[1]

Coffee regular: coffee with cream and sugar[1]

Coney Island chicken/Coney Island bloodhound/Coney Island[1]: a hot dog (so called because hot dogs were popularly associated with the stands on Coney Island)

Cow feed: a salad

Cow paste: butter[1] see also Axle grease and Skid grease

Cowboy coffee: coffee made with all chicory[1]

Cowboy Western: a western omelette or sandwich

Cowboy with spurs: western omelette with french fries[1]

Creep: draft beer

Cremate it: toast the bread[1]

Crowd: three of anything (possibly from the saying "Two's company, three's a crowd")

Cup o' joe[1]: 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[1]

Dog and maggot: cracker and cheese

Dog biscuit: a cracker

Dog soup: water

Don't cry over it: omit the onions[1]

Double black cow: double-thick chocolate shake[1]

Dough well done with cow to cover: bread and butter[1]

Drag it through the garden: a hamburger, hotdog, sandwich or similar with all condiments (vegetables) on it[1]

Drag one through Georgia: Coca-Cola with chocolate syrup

Drag one through Wisconsin: serve with cheese (e.g. a cheeseburger)[1]

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[1]

Drown the kids: boiled eggs[1]

Dry: a hamburger, hotdog, sandwich or similar without butter, mayonnaise or other dressing

Dry stack: pancakes without butter[1]

Dusty miller: chocolate pudding, sprinkled with powdered malt

Dish pig: 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

Egg o' Biscuit: biscuit with egg

Eighty-six (86): remove an item from an order or from the menu (as when the kitchen is out out of an item or ingredient)[1]

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[1]

F

Fifty-five: a glass of root beer

Firehouse it: add chili sauce to an item[1]

First lady: spare ribs (based on the creation of the biblical Eve from Adam's rib)[1]

Fish eyes or Cat's eyes: tapioca pudding

Flop two: two fried eggs, over easy[1]

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[1]

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)[1] 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[1]

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)

Groundhog: hot dog[1]

Guess water: soup[1]

H

Hail: ice

Hatching it: a fried egg on toast with a hole cut out of the center[1] see also Birds in a nest

Heart attack on rack: biscuits and gravy

Hemorrhage: tomato ketchup

Hen fruit or hen nuts: eggs[1] (sometimes boiled eggs)

High and dry: a plain sandwich without butter, mayonnaise, or lettuce

Hoboken special: pineapple soda with chocolate ice cream[1]

Hockey puck: a hamburger, well done

Hojack: buttered toast[1]

Hold the hail: no ice

Hold the grass: sandwich without lettuce[1]

Honeymoon salad: lettuce alone

Hope: oatmeal[1]

Hot balls: matzah ball soup

Hot blonde in sand: coffee with cream and sugar[1] see also Coffee regular

Hot one: bowl of chili con carne[1] see also Bowl of red

Hot top: hot chocolate[1]

Hounds on an island: franks and beans[1]

Houseboat[1]/Dagwood Special: a banana split

Hug one[1]/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) [[2]]

Jawa/Java/Joe: coffee

Jewish Round: a bagel

K

Keep off the grass: no lettuce

L

Ladybug: fountain man

Let it walk/Go for a walk/On wheels/Give it shoes: an order to go, a takeaway order

Life preservers/Sinkers: doughnuts

Lighthouse: bottle of ketchup

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

Marry: consolidate food in same containers, e.g. pouring ketchup from half-filled bottles into other bottles to make full bottles

Mayo: mayonnaise

Mike and Ike/The twins: salt and pepper shakers

Million on a platter: a plate of baked beans

Mississippi mud/Yellow paint: mustard

Moo juice/Cow juice/Baby juice/Sweet Alice: milk

Mother and child reunion: chicken and egg sandwich

Mouse trap: grilled cheese sandwich.

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: gelatin

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 an item

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 an order

Pittsburgh: something burning, toasted or charred

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

Raft: toast

Run it through the garden: any sandwich, usually a hamburger, with lettuce, tomato and onion added

S

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

Slab of moo, let him chew it: rare round steak

Sleigh ride special: vanilla pudding

Smear: margarine or butter

Soup jockey: waitress

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

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

The works: a hamburger, hotdog, sandwich or similar with all condiments on it

Throw it in the mud: add chocolate syrup

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

Walking: to go

Walking in: a new order just arriving in the kitchen.

Warts: olives

Wax: American cheese

Well-dressed diner: codfish

Whiskey: rye bread

Whiskey down: rye toast

White cow: vanilla milkshake

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

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by "Diner Talk from the Swing Era". http://www.jitterbuzz.com/diners.html. Retrieved September 12, 2011. 
  2. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TuUPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=94sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3760,5503173&dq=honeymoon-salad+no-dressing.

Further reading

The History of Diner Lingo and New York Eating Houses [1] 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


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