2011 July 31, Rob Smyth and Rob Bagchi, “England v India - as it happened”, inThe Guardian[3] (in English):
Another mention must be made for Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged - I 86ed it after only86 pages; Americans amongst us will understand the numbers reference."
Unknown for certain but most probably fromsoda jerk slang from the 1920s for 'all out', referring to an item on the menu not being available.
The earliest mention in print is from 1933.[1] TheOED suggests possiblerhyming slang fornix. Another possibility is that it is rhyming slang fordeep six.
Cassell'sDictionary of Slang claims that the term comes from the digging of a standard grave, which is 2.5 feet wide by 8 feet long by 6 feet deep.
Other, more elaborate theories includeDelmonico's Restaurant in New York City, as item #86 on their menu, the famousDelmonico steak, is supposed to have run out often in the 19th century. Another theory is that this term came from the New YorkspeakeasyChumley’s, which was a hotspot in the 1920s. Chumley’s is hidden inside a West Village building which has two entrances: a well-set-back main entrance on Barrow Street and an obscure back-door exit on 86 Bedford Street. Whenpolice were sighted approaching the main entrance, thebarkeeps supposedly yelled ‘86 it!’ to signal the patrons to hide theliquor and exit quickly through the back door. The term became standard in theservice industry for ejecting someone by the 1940s.[2]
86 (third-person singular simple present86s,present participle86ing,simple past and past participle86edor86'd)(US, chiefly restaurants,informal,transitive)
We finally had to86 that old printer after it jammed one too many times.
2011 July 31, Rob Smyth and Rob Bagchi, “England v India - as it happened”, inThe Guardian[4]:
Another mention must be made for Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged - I86ed it after only 86 pages; Americans amongst us will understand the numbers reference."
2025 May 16, teacherbill, “86 47! Come and get me Tulsi, Kash and Pam. You can't get us all.”, inDaily Kos[5]:
Nobody...and I mean NOBODY seriously considers the old saying to “86” someone as a physical threat.
2025 May 16, Edward Helmore, “What does ‘8647’ really mean? Not what Trump’s supporters are saying”, inThe Guardian[6]:
But there are other origin stories for being “86’d”, according to Merriam-Webster, including lunch-counter slang for being all out of a dish.
He stole from me and snitched on me, so I86ed him.
2017 September 28, Josh Corbin, 37:03 from the start, inStart Up, season 2, episode 6, spoken by Ronald Dacey (Edi Gathegi):
RONALD:”They tried to ghost your girl Isabel right here”. WES CHANDLER(played byRon Perlman):”Tried to ‘ghost’ her?” RONALD:”Merk.86. Put her down in the dirt. You feel me?”
^Zimmer, Ben (23 June 2018), “A Restaurant ‘Eighty-Sixed’ Sarah Huckabee Sanders. What Does That Mean?”, inThe Atlantic[1], retrieved17 May 2025
^Ramirez, Maria (17 May 2025), “Comey is under investigation for posting ‘86’ in reference to Trump. What does it mean?”, inPBS NewsHour[2],PBS, retrieved17 May 2025
