English

Numeral

eighty-six

1. The cardinal number immediately following eighty-five and preceding eighty-seven.

Synonyms

• Hindu-Arabic numerals: 86
• Roman numerals: LXXXVI

Translations

Etymology 2

Unknown for certain. Possibly rhyming slang for nix ‎(“cancel, say no to”) (given by the OED), or possibly part of a code of such numbers, created in the 1920s.

Verb

eighty-six ‎(third-person singular simple present eighty-sixes, present participle eighty-sixing, simple past and past participle eighty-sixed)

1. (colloquial) To cancel an order for food.

   "eighty-six the ham and eggs for table two!"

2. (colloquial) To remove an item from the menu.

   eighty-six the lobster bisque - we won't have the lobster delivery until tomorrow.

   "Yes, I'd like the tomato soup." / "I'm sorry sir, that's been eighty-sixed - would you like a salad instead?"

3. (colloquial) To remove or eject, as a disruptive customer

   Ryan and his friends got too rowdy at the bar, so they were eighty-sixed.

4. (colloquial) To throw out; discard.

   "We finally had to eighty-six that old printer after it jammed one too many times."

Synonyms

• nix
• ixnay

Translations

References

• "Eighty-six" in Michael Quinion, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds, 2004.