[Dixielandjazz] Eighty Six

[Don Kirkman]

On Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:56:08 +1000, Bill Haesler wrote:


>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.
. . .
>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]

Chapman's "American Slang" [ISBN 0-06-096160-0] cites this as well.
-- 
Don Kirkman