Etymology of "Eighty-Six"

[Paul]

86 was around long before the UMJ, my parents in the night club business
were using it at least as far back as the 40's.  I was always told it
was numerical hash house slang.  Although why 86 when it would be
doubtful you could have a usable code for more than 15/20 items.

John-Patrick wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> I have read that the 86 comes from military parlance as Article 86 of
> the Uniform Military Code that deals with "Absent Without Leave
> (AWOL)".  When something is sold out it in a restaurant it is also
> "Absent without Leave".   Any evidence for this?
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>

--
Pollsters are purveyors of the popular, sellers of the simple, they enable the easy and confuse samples with truths





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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org