86 - Eighty-six

In some early 20th-century soda fountains and bars, “86” was shorthand for “nix” or “no” – possibly rhyming slang. “Nix” → “six” → “86”? It’s a stretch, but slang rarely obeys logic.

— Service industry salute. 🫡

It’s one of the most durable pieces of slang to come out of the restaurant industry. But where did it come from? And why has it leaked out into the rest of our lives – from police scanners to software development to dating? eighty-six 86

And maybe that’s the best definition of 86 I’ve ever heard: In some early 20th-century soda fountains and bars,

Some claim Delmonico’s, one of America’s first fine-dining restaurants, had an item #86 on its menu – a particularly popular steak. When it sold out, waiters told guests, “Sorry, 86 is done.” — Service industry salute

How many of us are bad at that in real life? We hold onto toxic friendships, dead-end projects, stale habits – because we don’t have a clean word for “stop.” We don’t give ourselves permission to run out.