slider/Slyder(R), Gut-bomb

[Kathleen E. Miller]

At 12:50 AM 2/13/2004 -0500, Doug Wilson wrote:


>The slang term "slider" meaning "[small greasy] hamburger" (White Castle
>style or similar) was used in the 1960's according to my own recollection.
>It was not restricted to White Castle in my experience. The folk etymology
>said that the burger was small and greasy enough that it slid down the
>throat without the need for active chewing or swallowing ... or something
>like that. I believe no major company would have advertised "sliders" (nor
>"gut-bombs") back then.
>

There is a White Castle on the Black Horse Pike going down the shore in NJ.
Having grown-up in Indiana it was a new experience for me in the early
80's. Dad, however, had recollection of the place going back to the
mid-40's when he would go down the shore with Pop-Pop and Nana. He recalls
them being called sliders back then. And, in his opinion, the reason the
little burgers were called such was because they went in - and out - shall
we say, without stopping.

Kathleen E. Miller
Research Assistant to William Safire
The New York Times