Soda Jerk Slang (1931)

Bapopik at AOL.COM Bapopik at AOL.COM
Wed Jul 2 16:26:15 UTC 2003


   More from ancestry.com.  No "86" here, unfortunately.
   From the CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM (Elyria, Ohio), 12 May 1931, the syndicated
"New York Day by Day" by O. O. McIntyre, pg. 15, col. 1:

   NEW YORK, May 12--The picturesque patter of the cheap cafes ahs spread to
the glorified soda fountains.  Along the Bowery many waiters call out their
orders through the port hole to the kitchen.  The jargon varies in different
sections of the country.
   On the Bowery "One in the dark" is coffee without cream.  "Dude a Java" is
coffee without milk.  "Adam and Eve on a raft" is poached eggs on toast.
"Five minute vest spoters" are eggs boiled five minutes.  "Synagogue twins" are
fried ham and eggs.  "A left over" is mashed potatoes.  And so on.
   Soda jerking slang has the same mysterious lingo.  Even at those frescoed
fountains where the attendants suggest the magazine pictures of football
heroes in mufti it is indulged.  They do not shout so loud but it may easily be
heard by the customer.
   Here are a few that seem to be somewhat standardized:
   Hot chocolate--snow shoe.
   Lemonade--31.
   Orangeade--41.
   Small coca cola--shoot one.
   Large coca cola--stretch one.
   Malted Milk--burn one.  (Derived from electricity used in mixing.)
   Plain sundae--glob.
   Lemon phosphate--spiker.
   Soda to take out--a runner.
   Chocolate and vanilla sundae--mystery.
   Pineapple sundae--a Chicago.
   Incidentally, the soda mixer is not only highly paid if expert--in a few
cases $55 a week--but he has a contact with the public that leads to better
things.  Two employed at Fifth avenue fountains recently were picked for jobs
that paid around $10,000 a year each.



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