In restaurant and bar slang, “to get 86’d” means a patron has been kicked out. It used to mean bringing a particular piece of equipment out of service. This phrase has many origin stories, each contributing new layers to its meaning and use.
One of the most thrilling origin stories begins at a New York City watering hole. This bar, in the Belasco building, had two entrances, one on Barrow Street and the other on Bedford. Following this consumption-inducing storyline, rowdy or inebriated clientele were removed via front door marked “86.” In The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York, Jef Klein digs deeply into this subject. He recalls that cops would routinely tip off bartenders before a raid, instructing them to ‘86’ their patrons. That meant it was time for all of us to exit through the 86 Bedford door.
Merriam-Webster provides an interesting take on this. They point out that “86” started as lunch-counter slang for when a standard dish was no longer available. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the earliest documented use of “86” appears in a 1944 book about actor John Barrymore. In 1933, famous newspaper columnist Walter Winchell featured soda-fountain lingo in his signature gossip column. He promoted the new term through a glossary of terms that celebrated this colorful, lively vernacular.
Over time, the term has morphed into a generally understood term of art referring to the end of a program or service. In the restaurant slang, to “86” something is to discontinue it or take it off the menu. It can mean to kick someone out of an establishment, or to stop a scheme or operation. In limited instances, “86” has even been associated with more sinister interpretations, such as “to kill” or “to murder.” Yet the general public has not accepted or embraced these readings.
Surprisingly the United States Navy offers one of the more interesting definitions of the term with their logistical coding system. In this usage, equipment slated for upgrade or junking received the code AT-6, which phonetically translates to “eighty-six.” This military origin only deepens the term’s wide and insidious uses.
The phrase has since entered mafia slang. The Christian Science Monitor rounds up some lyrical reference including Newsweek’s “eight miles out of town” and “six feet under.” The interplay between these connections demonstrates dynamic pathways of language change under cultural pressures, reshaping use based on situational appropriateness, settings, and people.
Though the term “86” is still used nowadays to describe getting rid of something, its complex etymology only ensures that it’ll stick around for generations to come. Whether from barrooms to military lingo, “86” captures the spirit of getting rid of or stopping something in many different spheres of life.