#nutmegbirch

Best of luck, sweetheart!

I second Alex’s sentiment but probably using slightly different language. :P

SAME (I watched by the way. Quite enjoyed it! Will try to get back into it.)

Yes! It's such an institution. I can't not watch it, I can't not get excited by it but looooool I'm not going to pretend it's some pitch of flawlessness any more! (Not that I ever really thought that tbh.)

crackalley replied to your post:No but on a slightly more serious, reflective note...

I can’t help but agree. Showing priviledge over the lives of the downstairs characters has been this shows downfall for me and Tony is somehow the worst of the lot at the moment. Apart from Robert. Evermore.

Well yes, no-one more than Robert.

So a man came into work yesterday and ordered a turkey sandwich, "drag it through the garden, eighty-six the pickles, make it cry" and on the outside I'm like "...excuse me?"

...and on the inside I'm like, "I'm sorry, which century are we in again?"

"Diner lingo" is a system of communication between waitresses and cooks in American roadside diners. It dates back to the late 1800s, but was most popular from around the 1920s-1970s. Originally, its goal was to help short order cooks remember the long orders that the waitresses would holler through the restaurant by using mnemonic devices, but it grew into a sort of quirky slang that was expected in local American restaurants until the 70s.

After chain restaurants and fast food took over, it became pretty much obsolete, but it's made somewhat of a comeback at retro diners around Chicago, New York, New Jersey... etc. It's where we get such phrases as:

"Cremate it" - toast the bread

"Slab of moo, let 'em chew it" - rare round steak

"Hemorrhage" - ketchup

"Shit on a shingle/S.O.S." - minced dried beef with gravy on toast

"Butcher's revenge" - meatloaf

"Paint a bow-wow red" - hotdog with ketchup

"Tip-toe through Wisconsin" - sprinkle cheese over it

"Cow paste/Cow to cover" - butter

"Moo juice" - milk

"Throw it in the mud" - add chocolate syrup

"Two dots and a dash" - two fried eggs with a piece of bacon

"Hockey puck" - a well-done hamburger

"Put out the lights and cry" - liver and onions

"Burn the British" - toasted English muffin

"Zeppelins in a fog" - sausage with mashed potatoes

"Italian perfume" - garlic

"Customer will take a chance/Sweep the floor" - order of hash

"Make it walk/Put legs on it" - the order is to-go

"Still mooing" - very rare meat

"Lumber" - a toothpick

If you've seen The Emperor's New Groove, then you've actually seen Kronk speaking diner lingo (so I'm really curious what people not familiar with diner lingo who've seen that movie thought about that scene!)

But, as funky as this lingo is, you still can't really do it at a fast food restaurant. Or pretty much any restaurant nowadays. We will just stare at you, like I did to this man, until you speak more readily understandable words. Turns out, by "drag it through the garden, eighty-six the pickle, make it cry", he'd meant, "add lettuce and tomato, no pickles, add onions".

nutmegbirch replied to your post “QUICK POLL (because of something hella weird that happened at work today)”

Not a clue.

dolphelecat answered your question “QUICK POLL (because of something hella weird that happened at work today)”

Never heard the term. I'm from Iowa.

astralphan replied to your post “QUICK POLL (because of something hella weird that happened at work today)”

no freaking idea and im from washington state. neither do my mom and grandmother so maybe it'sf just a regional thing?

fatedfortunes answered your question “QUICK POLL (because of something hella weird that happened at work today)”

I think a brown cow is a chocolate shake? I used to know a few more but I forget...from Western New York

professor-ducklesworth answered your question “QUICK POLL (because of something hella weird that happened at work today)”

isn't 'diner lingo' just weird food slang that small diners have?? I thought that only happened in stereotypical movies tbh

lucifer-intheimpala reblogged your post and added:

I’m from Arizona and all I can think about when mentioning “diner lingo” is how you talk at a restaurant or something ???

meghawhopp replied to your post “QUICK POLL (because of something hella weird that happened at work today)”

Isn't it when a waitress calls back something really random to the cook and they totally understand it? The only example I can think of off the top of my head is adding "make it cry" to an order means add onions.

six-foot-two-phanchild reblogged your post and added:

No clue, I’m from CT!