Wavy G <[email hidden]> wrote:
OK, here it goes again -
Quoted message said:Hmm? No. Actually, I was looking for something more along the lines of
"friendly patter," rather than just a list. But go on and post it again
if you'd like. I'll be here. Thanks.
OK, Wavy - here's a couple of sites, followed by their list of diner
lingo. There's millions of more sites out there with more info. Go
to www.google.com and type in (including quote marks) "diner lingo".
You'll find a lot more than you hoped for! Here's 2 examples:
http://www.hungrymonster.com/humor/Restaurant_Lingo.cfm:
Adam and Eve on a raft: Two poached eggs on toast.
Adam's ale: Plain water.
Axle grease or Skid grease: Butter.
Baby, moo juice, Sweet Alice or cow juice: Milk.
Belch water: Seltzer or soda water.
Birdseed: Cereal.
Blue-plate special: A dish of meat, potato, and vegetable served on a
plate (usually blue) sectioned in three parts.
Bossy in a bowl: Beef stew, so called because "Bossy" was a common
name for a cow.
Bowl of red: A bowl of chili con carne, so called for its deep red
color.
Bowwow: A hot dog.
Breath: An onion.
Bridge or bridge party: Four of anything, so called from the card-game
hand of bridge.
Bullets: Also called "whistle berries" or "Saturday nights." Baked
beans, so called because of the supposed flatulence they cause.
Bun pup: A hot dog.
Burn one: Put a hamburger on the grill.
Burn the British: A toasted English muffin.
Cat s eyes or fish eyes: Tapioca.
China: Rice pudding.
Chopper: A table knife.
City juice: Water.
Clean up the kitchen: Hash or hamburger.
Coney Island chicken or Coney Island: A hot dog, so called because hot
dogs were popularly associated with the Coney Island stands at which
they were sold
Cowboy: A western omelet or sandwich
Cow feed: A salad
Creep: Draft beer
Crowd: Three of anything (possibly from the old saying, "Two's
company, three's a crowd"😉.
Deadeye: Poached egg
Dog and maggot: Cracker and cheese.
Dog biscuit: Cracker
Dog's body: A pudding of pea soup and flour or hardtack.
Dough well done with cow to cover: Buttered toast.
Draw one: Coffee
Eighty-six: "Do not sell to that customer" or "The kitchen is out of
the item ordered." Perhaps from the practice at Chumley's Restaurant
in New York City of throwing rowdy customers out the back door, which
is No. 86 Bedford Street. The term certainly predates its first
appearance in print circa 1967.
Eve with a lid on: Apple pie, referring to the biblical Eve's tempting
apple and to the crust that covers it.
Fifty-five: A glass of root beer.
First lady: Spareribs, a pun on Eve's being made from Adam's spare
rib.
Fly cake or roach cake: A raisin cake or huckleberry pie.
Frenchman's delight: Pea soup.
GAC: Grilled American cheese sandwich. This was also called "jack"
(from the pronunciation of "GAC"😉; a "Jack Benny" (after a radio
comedian) was cheese with bacon.
Gentleman will take a chance: Hash.
Go for a walk: An order to be packed and taken out.
Gravel train: Sugar bowl.
Graveyard stew: Milk toast.
Groundhog: Hot dog.
Hemorrhage: Ketchup.
High and dry: A plain sandwich without butter, mayonnaise, or lettuce.
Houseboat: A banana split made with ice cream and sliced bananas.
In the alley: Serve as a side dish.
Irish turkey: Corned beef and cabbage.
Java or Joe: Coffee.
Looseners: Prunes, so called because of their supposed laxative
effect.
Lumber: A toothpick.
Maiden's delight: Cherries, so called because "cherry" is a slang term
for the maidenhead.
Mike and Ike or the twins: Salt and pepper shakers.
Mud or Omurk: Black coffee.
Murphy: Potatoes, so called because of their association with the
Irish diet of potatoes, Murphy being a common Irish name.
Noah's boy: A slice of ham, because Ham was Noah's second son.
No cow: Without milk.
On the hoof: Meat done rare.
On wheels: An order to be packed and taken out.
Pair of drawers: Two cups of coffee.
Pittsburgh: Toast or something burning, so called because of the
smokestacks evident in Pittsburgh, a coal-producing and steel-mill
city. In meat cookery, this refers to a piece of meat charred on the
outside while still red within.
Put out the lights and cry: Liver and onions.
Radio: A tuna-fish-salad sandwich on toast punning on "tuna down,"
which sounds like "turn it down," as one would the radio knob.
Sand: Sugar.
Sea dust: Salt.
Sinkers and suds: Doughnuts and coffee.
Vermont: Maple syrup, because maple syrup comes primarily from
Vermont.
Warts: Olives.
Wreath: Cabbage.
Wreck 'em: Scramble the eggs.
Yum-yum: Sugar.
Zeppelins in a fog: Sausages in mashed potatoes.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1203/glad_u_asked112503.asp
Adam and Eve on a raft: Two eggs on toast.
Axle grease: Butter.
Bossy in a bowl: Beef stew.
Breath: An onion.
Bullets: Baked beans.
Chopper: A table knife.
Dough well done with cow to cover: Buttered toast.
Eve with a lid on: Apple pie.
High and dry: No mayonnaise.
Lumber: A toothpick.
The twins: Salt and pepper shakers.
On the hoof: Meat done rare.
Put out the lights and cry: Liver and onions.
Sinkers and suds: Doughnuts and coffee.
Wreck `em: Scrambled eggs.
SOURCES: Food critic Daniel Rogov, homecooking.about.com
