verb General Slang

86

· verb · kitchen

Kitchen code for 'we're out — kill it from the menu.'

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Definitions

1

To declare an item dead for the rest of service — either you've run out, it's gone off, or the chef is done with it. Called out across the line so servers stop selling it. Bleeds out of kitchens into bars and general slang for 'get rid of.'

“Chef, that's the last salmon plated — 86 the salmon.”
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2

To throw someone out and ban them — bouncer/bartender usage for refusing service to a customer who's crossed the line.

“He swung at the barback last week, we 86'd him.”
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86 In A Sentence

Chef, that's the last salmon plated — 86 the salmon.
He swung at the barback last week, we 86'd him.

Origin & Usage

Disputed. Popular theories: Chumley's bar at 86 Bedford St (NYC) where rowdies got tossed out the 86 door; rhyming slang for 'nix'; or 1930s soda-jerk code. First print citations early 20th century US.

Variants eighty-sixeighty-sixed86'd
Tags #kitchen#boh#restaurant#bar#service

People Also Ask

What does 86 mean?

It's kitchen and bar code for being out of something — to 'kill it' or remove it from the menu.

How do you use 86 in a sentence?

A server might say '86 the salmon,' meaning the kitchen is out of salmon so stop selling it.

Where does 86 come from?

It's long-established American diner and bar slang for cutting off an item or a customer, though the precise origin of the number is debated.

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