[Dixielandjazz] Eighty Six

[Bill Haesler]

Dear friends,
I have been absorbing with interest all the explanations for the term 
"86ed" but, having asked the initial question, and as a researcher, I 
am still not convinced by the guesses so far.
Most seem to be too localised in that they refer to individual state 
codes, clubs, etc.
Listmate Ivor Jones (he from Portugal and Good Time Jazz Band fame) and 
I have been discussing the subject off-list and he suggested 
rhyming-slang.
But do Americans use it like Londoners (the ones from England) and 
Aussies do?
So I finally checked my trusty companion 'The Cassell Dictionary of 
Slang' by Jonathon Green [1998. Cassell, London] and prefer his more 
logical, wide-ranging definition:

Eighty six. v. 1 [1960s+] to throw out, to get rid of. [rhy. sl. eighty 
six = NIX v.: orig. restaurant and bar use, indicating that the supply 
of an item is exhausted or that a customer is not to be served]

Kind regards,
Bill.