It’s incredible to think that a whole system of terminology was once in use on a daily basis by waitstaff and cooks in diners in the 1920s-1970s. Today, many of these terms are unrecognizable to the average ear. However, there are a few that have stuck with us, like “86’d”, “sunnyside up”, and “mayo”. More complicated phrases –some of them quite rude– have fallen completely from use.
Hash slinging lingo can be traced back to the 1800s and is thought to have started as a way to simplify orders and help cooks remember what to cook. Even if some of the terms weren’t all that short, they probably reduced the number of misheard orders in a bustling diner. This might explain why diner lingo is so unusual.
For many folks visiting big cities in the period between the World Wars these funny and sometimes risqué phrases were half the fun of eating at a diner. Here are some of the best of these old fashioned diner phrases that you’d certainly never hear in restaurants today.
Adam & Eve on a raft: two poached eggs on toast
All hot: baked potato
Angels on Horseback: oysters rolled in bacon and served on toast
Axle grease: butter
Baled hay: shredded wheat cereal
Belch water (or balloon water): seltzer or soda water
Birds in a nest: a fried egg on toast with a hole cut out of the center
B.L.T.: bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich
Campers: customers who stay long after their meal is done
Cat’s eyes: tapioca
Deadeye: poached egg
Dog and maggot: cracker and cheese (the “dog” is the cracker)
Double black cow: double-thick chocolate shake
Eggs up: two eggs fried on one side, unflipped with unbroken yolks
Firehouse it: add chili sauce to a dish
First lady: spareribs (a reference to Eve)
Fly cake (or roach cake): raisin cake or huckleberry pie
GAC: grilled American cheese sandwich (with bacon is a Jack Benny and with tomato is a GAC Tommy)
George Eddy: customer that refused to tip
Greasy spoon: a diner or cafe
Groundhog: hot dog
Houseboat: banana split
Irish turkey: corned beef and cabbage
Jack Benny: cheese with bacon
Java (or Joe): coffee
Let it walk (or on wheels/give it shoes): an order to go, a take-out order
Make ’em cry: add onions
Mississippi Mud (or yellow paint): mustard
Mystery in the alley: side order of hash
Nervous pudding: Jello
On the hoof: Any kind of meat cooked rare
On a rail: fast
Paint it red: put ketchup on a sandwich or dish
Pair of drawers: Two cups of coffee
Pin a rose on it: add onion to a dish
Rabbit food: lettuce
Raft (or shingle): toast or bun
Sand (or gravel): Sugar
Sea dust: salt
Shingle with a shimmy and a shake: Buttered toast with jam
Short stack: order of pancakes
Wax: American cheese
Whistle berries: beans
Whiskey: rye bread
Wreck ’em (or wrecked): Scrambled eggs
Zeppelin: sausage