Both Jack and I were short-order cooks in our teenage years, but we arrived too late for the golden age of lunch counter lingo, also known as dinerese or dinerspeak. That's the snappy patter thrown about by sassy gum-cracking waitresses in old-time diners who'd yell back to the cook:
"Jack Benny, Takes a Flower! Frog Sticks and Sissy Nut! Brown Cow, Fluff It, Break It And Shake It! Give it Shoes!"
"Burn One, Drag It Through the Garden and Pin a Rose on It! Cream It and Paint It Red!! Cold Spot, and Ice the Rice!"
And, of course, the classic:
"Adam and Eve on A Raft! Sink 'em! Cup o' Joe -- Hi-test! Throw It In the Mud!"
It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but eating in diners back then sure was more colorful. And as far as I can tell, this is the most complete listing of American diner slang of the mid-20th century on the web ... because I compiled all the slang off every site that I could find. Go me!
Most recent entries have a light green background, but only in the lingo-to-English glossary.
Also, check out the Retro Slang page!
| A Cup of Mud | Coffee |
| Abbott & Costello | Franks and beans |
| AC | American cheese sandwich, not grilled |
| Acid | Vinegar |
| Adam and Eve on a Log | Two poached eggs and a sausage link |
| Adam and Eve on a Raft | Two poached eggs on toast (also, "sink 'em" -- break the yolks -- or "wreck 'em" -- scramble the eggs) |
| Adam's Ale | Plain water ("Hold the hail" -- no ice) |
| Add Another | Coffee |
| Aggies | Baked beans |
| Alive | Raw |
| Alka Seltzer | Seltzer or soda water |
| All Arms and Legs | Weak |
| All Black | Chocolate soda with chocolate ice cream |
| All Day | Altogether |
| All The Way | Served with all the toppings For a burger, this usually means lettuce, mayonnaise, onion, and butter. May also refer to chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream. |
| Aqua Pura | Water |
| All Hot | Baked potato |
| All The Way | Sandwich with everything |
| Alleviator | Glass of tomato juice spiked with black coffee |
| An M.D. | Dr. Pepper |
| And Cinnamon | Dropped in a bowl of milk |
| Angel | Sandwich maker |
| Angel Food Cake and Wine | Bread and Water |
| Angels on Horseback | Oysters rolled in bacon and served on toast |
| Ant Paste | Chocolate pudding |
| A-pie | Apple pie |
| Arches | Eggs |
| Arizona | Buttermilk |
| Athlete's Foot | Stewed, dried peaches |
| Atlanta | Coca Cola |
| Atlanta Special | Coca-Cola |
| Axle Grease | Butter |
| B and B | Bread and butter |
| B&B | Bread and butter |
| Baby | Glass of milk |
| Baby Juice | Milk |
| Baby Sauce | Mustard |
| Back Teeth Afloat | Intoxicated |
| Bad Breath | Onion |
| Baked Alaska | Baked Swiss steak |
| Bald Headed Row | Row of diner seats |
| Baled Hay | Shredded wheat |
| Ball of Fire | Shot of whiskey |
| Balloon Juice, Balloon Water | Seltzer or soda water |
| Bang Berries | Baked beans |
| Bank | Cash register |
| Bark | Hot dog |
| Barked pie | Fruit cobbler |
| Barley broth | Beer |
| Barley water | Beer |
| Barnstormer | Waitress who jumps from job to job |
| Barnyard Pileup | Chicken-fried steak with eggs |
| Base runner | Waitress who jumps from job to job |
| Battery Acid | Grapefruit Juice |
| Bedsteader | Sleepy counterman |
| Bean Buster | Heavy eater |
| Beans to Go | Coffee |
| Beef A La Mode | Beef stew |
| Beef on Weck | Certain style of roast beef sandwich |
| Beef Stick | A bone |
| Bees | American cheese |
| Beetle blood | Beer (or ale) |
| Belch Water | Seltzer or soda water |
| Belly Busters | Baked beans |
| Belly Cheat | Apron |
| Belly Chokers | Doughnuts |
| Belly Furniture | Food |
| Belly Warmer | Coffee |
| Bellywash | Soup |
| Bend the Crab | Overcharge a rude customer |
| Bender | An employee who steals food |
| Bernice | Aspirin or other painkiller |
| Berries | Eggs |
| Bessie | Roast beef or hamburger |
| Bib | Napkin |
| Bible | Cookbook |
| Biddy Board | French toast |
| Billiard | Buttermilk |
| Bing | Small restaurant |
| Birdseed | Cereal or breakfast |
| Biscuit | Your heart |
| Biscuit Grabber | Fatty food |
| Black and blue | Extremely rare meat |
| Black and White | Chocolate soda with vanilla ice cream, black coffee with cream, chocolate malted milk |
| Black Ball | Chocolate ice cream |
| Black Bottom | Chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup |
| Black Box | Safe or cash register |
| Black Cow | Chocolate milk, chocolate soda with chocolate ice cream, root beer |
| Black Stick | Chocolate ice cream cone |
| Black Water | Root beer |
| Blindfolded | Basted eggs |
| Blonde | Coffee with cream |
| Blonde and Sweet | Coffee with sugar and cream |
| Blonde with Sand | Coffee with cream and sugar |
| Bloodhound | Hot dog |
| Bloodhounds in the Hay | Hot dogs and sauerkraut |
| Bloody | Very rare |
| Blowout Patches | Pancakes |
| BLT | Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich |
| Blue-bottle | Bromo Seltzer |
| Blue-Plate Special | A dish of meat, potato, and vegetable served on a plate (usually blue) sectioned in three parts |
| Boiled Leaves | Tea |
| Bossy in a Bowl, Betsy in a Bowl | Beef stew |
| Bossy on a Board | Roast beef sandwich |
| Bottom | Scoop of ice cream added to drink |
| Bovine Extract | Milk |
| Bowl of Red | Bowl of chili con |
| Bowl on Fire | Chili |
| Bowwow | Hot dog |
| Break It And Shake It | Add egg to a drink |
| Breath | Onion |
| Bridge | Four of anything |
| Bridge Party | Four of anything |
| Broken Henberries | Scrambled eggs |
| Bronx Vanilla | Garlic |
| Brown Bellies | Baked beans |
| Brown Cow | Chocolate Milk |
| Bubble Dancer | Dishwasher |
| Brown Down | Wheat toast |
| Bubble Dancer | Dishwasher |
| Bucket of Cold Mud | Bowl of chocolate ice cream |
| Bucket of Hail | Glass of ice |
| Bullets | Baked beans |
| Bun Pup | Hot dog |
| Burger with Breath | Hamburger with onions |
| Burn It | Cook until well done |
| Burn It And Let It Swim | Chocolate float |
| Burn One | Put a hamburger on the grill |
| Burn One All The Way | Chocolate milkshake with chocolate ice cream |
| Burn One, Take It Through the Garden and Pin a Rose on It | Hamburger with lettuce, tomato and onion |
| Burn the British | Toasted English muffin |
| Busted | Scrambled eggs |
| Butcher's Revenge | Meatloaf |
| C.B. | Cheeseburger |
| C.J. Boston | Cream cheese and jelly |
| C.J. White | Cream cheese and jelly on white bread |
| Cackle fruit | Eggs |
| Cackleberries | Eggs |
| Canary Island Special | Vanilla soda with chocolate ice cream |
| Canned Cow | Evaporated milk |
| Carfare | Waitress got a tip |
| Cat's Eyes | Tapioca |
| Cats Heads and Easy Diggins | Biscuits and gravy |
| Check the Ice | Look at the pretty girl who just came in |
| Checkerboard | Waffle |
| Chewed With Fine Breath | Hamburger with onions |
| Chicago, Chicago Sundae | Pineapple sundae |
| Chicago Dog | Hot dog with steamed bun and relish |
| Chicken in the Hay | Egg salad sandwich |
| Chicks on a Raft | Eggs on toast |
| China | Rice pudding |
| Choc In | Chocolate soda |
| Choker Hole | Doughnut |
| Chokies | Artichokes |
| Chopper | A table knife |
| City Cocktail | Glass of water |
| City Juice | Glass of water |
| Clean Up the Kitchen | Hash or hamburger |
| Cluck | Eggs |
| Cluck and Grunt | Eggs and bacon |
| C.O. Cocktail | Castor oil in a soda |
| Coffee And | Coffee and a doughnut, coffee and a piece of cake |
| Coffee Regular | Coffee with a cream and two sugars |
| Coke Pie | Coconut Pie |
| Cold Mud | Chocolate Ice Cream |
| Cold Spot | Iced tea |
| Coney Island | Hot dog |
| Coney Island Chicken | Hot dog |
| Coney Island Bloodhound | Hot dog |
| Corrugated Roof | Lemon meringue pie |
| Corsage | with onions |
| Cow Feed | A salad |
| Cow Juice | Milk |
| Cow Paste | Butter |
| Cowboy | A western omelet or sandwich |
| Cowboy Coffee | Coffee made with all chicory |
| Cow to Cover | Butter |
| Cowboy Takes LT | Western omelet with lettuce and tomato |
| Cowboy with Spurs | Western omelet with French fries |
| Cowcumber | Pickle |
| Cream It | Cook until well done |
| Creep | Draft beer |
| Cremate | To burn or toast something |
| Cremate a Blue, Bikini Cut | Toasted blueberry muffin cut into several pieces -- the muffin must have a crispy top |
| Cremate It | Toast the bread |
| Crowd | Three of anything |
| Cup 'o Joe | Coffee |
| Cup of Mud | Coffee |
| Customer Will Take a Chance | Hash |
| Cut the Grass | Serve without relish |
| Dagwood Special | Banana split made with ice cream and sliced bananas |
| Deadeye | Poached egg |
| Devils on Horseback | Prunes rolled in bacon, served on toast |
| Dine and Dash | Leave without paying the bill |
| Dirty Water | Coffee |
| Dog and Maggot | Cracker and cheese |
| Dog Biscuit | Cracker |
| Dog Soup | Water |
| Dog's Body | A pudding of pea soup and flour or hardtack |
| Double Black Cow | Extra rich chocolate shake |
| Dough Well Done With Cow to Cover | Buttered toast |
| Douse it | Cover it with sauce |
| Down | Means "on toast", with white bread as the default; as: "BT down!" (bacon [lettuce] and tomato on [white] toast) |
| Drag It Through the Garden | Hamburger, hotdog, sandwich or similar with all condiments on it |
| Drag One Through Georgia | Pepsi or Coca-Cola with chocolate syrup |
| Drag One Through Wisconsin | Put cheese on it |
| Draw | To dispense a beverage on tap |
| Draw One | Coffee |
| Draw One In the Dark | Black coffee |
| Draw One Muddy | Black coffee |
| Draw Some Mud | Black coffee |
| Drop Two | Two poached eggs |
| Drown One, Hold the Hail | Coke with no ice |
| Drown the Kids | Boil the eggs |
| Dry | Hamburger, hotdog, sandwich or similar without butter, mayonnaise or other dressing |
| Dry Stacks | Pancakes with no butter or syrup |
| Dusty Miller | Chocolate pudding, sprinkled with powdered malt |
| Easy Over | Eggs briefly cooked and flipped |
| Echo | Repeat the order |
| Egg Cream | Drink made with chocolate syrup, milk and seltzer |
| Eighty-One | Glass of water |
| Eighty-Six | "Do not sell to that customer" or "The kitchen is out of the item ordered" or "Cancel that order" |
| Eighty-Seven And a Half | Girl at table with great legs |
| Elephant Dandruff | Corn flakes cereal |
| English winter | Iced tea |
| Eternal Twins | Ham and eggs |
| Eve with a Lid On | Apple pie |
| Eve with a Moldy Lid | Apple pie with a slice of cheese |
| Family Reunion | Chicken and egg sandwich |
| Fifty-Five | A glass of root beer |
| Fifty-One | Hot chocolate |
| Fifty-Two | Two hot chocolates |
| First Lady | Spareribs |
| Fish Eyes | Tapioca |
| Five | Milk |
| Flat Car | Pork chops |
| Flop Two | Two fried eggs, over easy |
| Flop Two, Over Easy | Turned over - yolk runny |
| Flop Two, Over Hard | Fried egg, flipped and cooked until the yolk is solid all the way through |
| Flop Two, Over Medium | Turning over a fried egg and the yolk begins to solidify |
| Florida Tonic | Orange juice |
| Flowing Mississippi | Black coffee |
| Fluff It | Add whipped cream |
| Fly cake | A raisin cake or huckleberry pie |
| Fog | Mashed potatoes |
| Foreign Entanglements | Spaghetti |
| Forty-One | Lemonade |
| Forty-Two | Two orders of eggs flipped over |
| Frenchman's Delight | Pea soup |
| Friday's Choice | Fish dinner |
| Frog Fries | Fries |
| Frog Sticks | French fries |
| Frosty Joe | Iced coffee |
| Fry Two, Let the Sun Shine | Fry two eggs with yolks unbroken |
| Full House | Grilled cheese, bacon and tomato |
| GAC | Grilled American cheese sandwich |
| Gallery | Booth |
| Gentleman Will Take a Chance | Hash |
| George Eddy | A customer who doesn't tip |
| Georgia Pie | Peach pie |
| Give | Milk |
| Give It Shoes | An order to go, a takeaway order |
| Glob | Plain sundae |
| Go For A Walk | To go |
| Gravel Train | Sugar bowl |
| Graveyard Stew | Milk toast (buttered toast sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and dropped in a bowl of warm milk) |
| Groundhog | Hot dog |
| Grunt | Bacon |
| Guess Water | Soup |
| Hail | Ice |
| Halitosis | Garlic |
| Hamlette | Omelette made with ham |
| Harlem Midget | Small chocolate soda |
| Harlem soda | Chocolate soda |
| Haystack | Strawberry pancakes |
| Heart Attack on Rack | Biscuits and gravy |
| Hemorrhage | Ketchup |
| Hen Fruit | Eggs, typically boiled |
| Hen Nuts | Eggs |
| Henberries | Eggs |
| High and dry | A plain sandwich without butter, mayonnaise, or lettuce |
| High, yellow, black and white | Chocolate soda with vanilla ice cream |
| Hi-test | Strong coffee, or black coffee |
| Hoboken Special | Pineapple soda with chocolate ice cream |
| Hockey Puck | Hamburger well done |
| Hold the Grass | Sandwich without lettuce |
| Hold the Hail | No ice |
| Hold the Hair | Soda with no ice |
| Honeymoon Salad | Lettuce alone |
| Hope | Oatmeal |
| Hops | Malted milk powder |
| Hot One | Bowl of chili |
| Hot Balls | Matzoh ball soup |
| Hot Blonde in the Sand | Coffee with cream and sugar |
| Hot Cha | Hot chocolate |
| Hot Spot | Tea or coffee |
| Hot Top | Hot chocolate |
| Hounds on an Island | Frankfurters and beans |
| Houseboat | Banana split |
| Hudson River Ale | Water |
| Hug One | Orange juice |
| Ice on Rice, Ice the Rice | Rice pudding with ice cream |
| Idaho Cakes | Hash brown patties |
| In A Fog | With mashed potatoes |
| In the Alley | Serve as a side dish |
| In the Hay | Strawberry milkshake |
| In the Weeds | Waitress/cook that can't keep up with the tables |
| Irish Turkey | Corned beef and cabbage |
| Italian Perfume | Garlic |
| Jack | Grilled American cheese sandwich |
| Jack Benny | Grilled cheese with bacon sandwich |
| Jackback | Grilled cheese with bacon |
| Jack Benny in the Red | Strawberry Jell-O |
| Jack Tommy | Grilled cheese with tomato |
| Java | Coffee |
| Jayne Mansfield | Tall stack of pancakes |
| Jerk | Ice Cream Soda |
| Jewish round | Bagel |
| Joe | Coffee |
| Joe O'Malley | Irish coffee |
| Kansas Dog | Hot dog with mustard and cheese |
| Keep Off the Grass | No lettuce |
| Kiss the pan | Eggs over easy |
| L.A. | Add a scoop of ice cream |
| Lady Bug | Fountain man |
| Late Walk | A take-out order |
| Leaves in the Hail | Iced Tea |
| Let It Swim | Ice Cream Floated On Top |
| Let It Walk | An order to go, a takeaway order |
| Let The Sun Shine | Don't break the yolks |
| Life Preservers | Doughnuts |
| Life Preservers With A Hot Top | Doughnuts with Hot Chocolate |
| Lighthouse | Bottle of ketchup |
| Log Roll | Order of link sausages |
| Looseners | Prunes |
| Lord's Supper | Bread and water |
| Love Apples | Tomatoes |
| Lumber | A toothpick |
| M.D. | Dr. Pepper |
| Machine Oil | Syrup |
| Magoo | Custard pie |
| Maiden's Delight | Cherries |
| Make It A Virtue | Add cherry syrup to a soda |
| Make It Crackle | Add an egg to a drink, especially milkshakes |
| Make It Cry | Add onions |
| Make It Moo | Rare steak |
| Make It Walk | Order to go |
| Mama | Marmalade |
| Mama on a Raft | Marmalade on toast |
| Marry | Bring items together |
| Mary Garden | Spiked with magnesium citrate (laxative) |
| Mayo | Mayonnaise |
| Melting Snow | Melted Swiss cheese |
| Messy | Over easy |
| Mickey Rooney | Served with mustard and relish |
| Mike and Ike | Salt and pepper shakers |
| Million on a Platter | Baked beans |
| Mississippi [Mud] | Mustard |
| Moo juice | Milk |
| Motor Oil | Syrup |
| Mud, Murk | Black coffee, or black coffee with chocolate syrup |
| Mully | Beef stew |
| Murphy | Potatoes |
| Murphy Carrying a Wreath | Ham and potatoes with cabbage |
| Mystery in the Alley | Side order of hash |
| Nervous Pudding | Jello |
| Ninety-Five | Customer leaving without paying |
| No Cow | Without milk |
| Noah Boy On Bread | Ham sandwich |
| Noah's Boy | A slice of ham |
| Noah's Boy with Murphy Carrying a Wreath | Ham and potatoes with cabbage |
| Nun's Toast | Hardboiled eggs and flour gravy on toast |
| Oh Gee | Orange juice |
| Oh Jay | Orange juice |
| Oil | Butter |
| Old Maids | Prunes |
| Omurk | Black coffee |
| On a Rail | Fast, as in "Fries, on a rail!" |
| On the Hoof | Rare and bloody meat |
| On Wheels | An order to go, a takeaway |
| One From the Alps | Swiss cheese sandwich |
| One On the City | Glass of water |
| One On the House | Glass of water |
| P.C. | Plain chocolate milk |
| Paint a Bowwow Red | Hot dog with ketchup |
| Paint It Red | Put ketchup on an item |
| Paint It Yellow | Put mustard on an item |
| Pair of Drawers | Two cups of coffee |
| Pigs | Bacon |
| Pigs in a Blanket, Pigs between the Sheets | Ham (sometimes a sausage) sandwich |
| Pin a Rose On It | Add onion to an order |
| Pink Stick | Strawberry ice cream |
| Pipes | Straws |
| Pittsburgh | Toast or something burning |
| Pittsburgh Rare | Burnt on the outside, rare on the inside |
| Plain & Dry | Hamburger without |
| Pop Boy | Soda jerk who doesn't know his business |
| Pope Benedict | Eggs benedict |
| Popeye | Spinach |
| PT | Pot of tea |
| Put A Hat On It | Add ice cream |
| Put Legs on it | To go |
| Put Out the Lights and Cry | Liver and onions |
| Quail | Hungarian goulash |
| Rabbit Food | Lettuce |
| Radar Range | Microwave oven |
| Radio | Tuna salad sandwich on toast |
| Raft | Toast |
| Red and White | Topped with sour cream and salsa |
| Red Bull | Chili |
| Red Lead | Ketchup |
| Rhinelander | Choclate soda with vanilla ice cream |
| Roach Cake | Raisin cake or huckleberry pie |
| Rubber in a Bun | Steak sandwich |
| Ruff It | Add whipped cream |
| Run It Through the Garden | Any sandwich, usually a hamburger, with lettuce, tomato and onion added |
| Saddle It | Well-done steak |
| Saltwater Man | Ice cream man |
| Sand | Sugar |
| Saturday Nights | Baked beans |
| Scandal Soup | Tea |
| Schmeer | Cream cheese, usually on a bagel |
| Scrape Two | Two scrambled eggs |
| Sea Dust | Salt |
| Seaboard | Any item for takeout |
| Shake It | Milkshake |
| Shake One in the Hay | Strawberry milk shake |
| Shingle With A Shimmy And a Shake | Buttered toast with jam |
| Shit On A Shingle | Minced or chipped beef with gravy on toast |
| Shivering Eve | Apple jelly |
| Shivering Liz | Jell-O |
| Shivering Hay | Strawberry gelatin |
| Shoot It Yellow | Add lemon syrup to a cola |
| Shoot One From the South | Strong cola |
| Shoot One In the Red | Cherry cola |
| Short Stack | Order of pancakes |
| Shot Out of the Blue Bottle | Bromo-Seltzer |
| Side arms | Salt and pepper |
| Side of Joan of Arc | French fries |
| Sinkers | Doughnuts |
| Sinkers and Suds | Doughnuts and coffee |
| Sissy Nut | Cream cheese on date nut bread |
| Skid Grease | Butter |
| Slab of Moo -- Let Him Chew It | Rare rump steak |
| Sleigh Ride Special | Vanilla pudding |
| Small stretch | Small Coca-Cola |
| Smear | Margarine or butter |
| Sneeze | Pepper |
| Snow White | 7-Up |
| Snowball | Scoop of vanilla ice cream |
| Soda | Carbonated water, usually flavored |
| Soda jerk | Soda fountain worker |
| SOS | Minced or chipped beef with gravy on toast |
| Soup Jockey | Waitress |
| Sour It | Add lemon to it |
| Spike on an Oval | Order of hash browns |
| Splash of Red Noise | Bowl of tomato soup |
| Splash Out of the Garden | Bowl of vegetable soup |
| Spot With A Twist | Tea with lemon |
| Squeeze | Orange Juice |
| Squeeze One | Orange Juice |
| Stack | Pancakes |
| Stack of Vermont | Pancakes with maple syrup |
| Steaming Idaho | Baked potato |
| Still Mooing | Served rare |
| St. Pats | Corned beef and cabbage |
| Stretch | Coca-Cola: e.g., "Stretch one!" A small Coke is a "short stretch" |
| Stretch One and Paint it Red | Coca-Cola with a cherry |
| Submarine | Doughnut |
| Suds | Root beer or beer |
| Sun Kiss | Orange juice |
| Sunny Brook | Eggs fried without flipping, with bacon on the side |
| Sunny-Side Up | Eggs are fried without flipping them, so the yolk looks just like a sun on white background |
| Sunny Sundae | Ice cream sundae with pineapple |
| Suthun Coffee | Coffee made from half regular beans, half chicory - best with molasses |
| Swamp Water | Soda made of all flavors available |
| Sweep the Floor | Hash |
| Sweep the Kitchen | Plate of hash |
| Sweepings | Plate of hash |
| Sweet Alice | Milk |
| Take a Chance | Hash |
| Takes a Flower | With onion |
| Take It To The Garden | Add lettuce, tomato and onion |
| The Twins | Salt and pepper shakers |
| The Works | Hamburger, hotdog, sandwich or similar with all condiments on it |
| Throw It In The Mud | Add chocolate syrup |
| Thousand On A Plate | Baked beans |
| Tiptoe Through Wisconsin | Sprinkle cheese on it |
| Top It Red | Add salsa |
| Top it White | Add sour cream |
| Traffic Light Sundae | Sundae with three scoops of vanilla, with a red, green and white cherry on each scoop |
| Tube Steak | Hot dog |
| Tuna Down | Tuna fish sandwich |
| Twelve Alive in a Shell | A dozen raw oysters |
| Twenty-One | Limeade |
| Twist It, Choke It, Make it Cackle | Chocolate malted milkshake with egg |
| Two Cows, Make 'em Cry | Two hamburgers with onions |
| Two Dots and A Dash | Two fried eggs and a strip of bacon |
| Two Over with Sausage, Wheat Down Two Times | Two orders, each with two eggs over, along with sausage and whole wheat toast |
| Velvet | Milk shake |
| Vermont | Maple syrup |
| Virtue | Cherry pie |
| Walk a Cow Through the Garden | Hamburger with lettuce, tomato and onion |
| Warts | Olives |
| Wax | American cheese |
| Well-dressed Diner | Codfish |
| Wheat Down | Toasted wheat bread |
| Whiskey | Rye bread |
| Whiskey Down | Rye toast |
| Whistleberries | Baked beans |
| White Cow | Vanilla milkshake |
| Wimpy | Hamburger |
| Wind Mill | Glass of water |
| Windmill Cocktail | Glass of water |
| Winter | Whipped cream |
| With Horns On | Served rare |
| With legs | To go (e.g. "Adam and Eve on a raft with legs") |
| Works | All the condiments |
| Wreath | Cabbage |
| Wreck | Scramble |
| Wreck a Pair | Two scrambled eggs |
| Wreck 'em | Scramble the eggs |
| Wrecked and Crying | Scrambled eggs with onions |
| Wrecked Hen with Fruit | Scrambled eggs and orange juice |
| Yellow Paint | Mustard |
| Yesterday, Today, and Forever | Hash |
| Yum-yum | Sugar |
| Z | Mushrooms |
| Zeppelins | Sausage |
| Zeppelins in a Fog | Sausages in mashed potatoes |
And now, for the first time on the web ... so far as I can tell ... an English To Lunch Counter Glossary!
| "Do not sell to that customer" or "The kitchen is out of the item ordered" | Eighty-Six |
| 7-Up | Snow White |
| Add cheese | Drag One Through Wisconsin, Tiptoe Through Wisconsin |
| Add cherry syrup to a soda | Make It a Virtue |
| Add chocolate syrup | Throw It In The Mud |
| Add egg to a drink | Break It And Shake It, Make It Cackle |
| Add ice cream | L.A., Put A Hat On It |
| Add lemon to it | Sour It |
| Add lemon syrup to a cola | Shoot It Yellow |
| Add mustard | Paint It Yellow |
| Add lettuce, tomato and onion | Take It To The Garden |
| Add onion to an order | Pin a Rose On It, Make It Cry |
| Add salsa | Top It Red |
| Add sour cream | Top It White |
| Add whipped cream | Fluff It, Ruff It |
| All the condiments | The works |
| Altogether | All Day |
| American cheese | Wax, Beeds |
| American cheese sandwich, not grilled | AC |
| An order to go | On Wheels, Give It Shoes, Let It Walk, Seaboard, Make It Walk, Go For A Walk, Put Legs on It, With Legs |
| Any sandwich, usually a hamburger, with lettuce, tomato and onion added | Run It Through the Garden |
| Apple jelly | Shivering Eve |
| Apple pie | A-pie, Eve with a Lid On |
| Apple pie with a slice of cheese | Eve with a Moldy Lid |
| Hot chocolate | Fifty-One, Hot Top |
| Apron | Belly Cheat |
| Artichokes | Chokies |
| Aspirin or other painkiller | Bernice |
| Bacon | Pigs, Grunt |
| Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich | BLT |
| Bagel | Jewish Round |
| Baked beans | Bullets, Million on a Platter, Saturday Nights, Whistleberries, Aggies, Bang Berries, Belly Busters, Brown Bellies, Thousand On A Plate |
| Baked potato | All Hot, Steaming Idaho |
| Banana split | Houseboat, Dagwood Special |
| Basted eggs | Blindfolded |
| Beef stew | Mully, Bossy in a Bowl, Betsy in a Bowl, Beef A La Mode |
| Beer | Barley Broth, Barley Water, Beetle Blood, Suds |
| Biscuits and gravy | Cats Heads and Easy Diggins, Heart Attack on Rack |
| Black coffee | Draw One In the Dark, Flowing Mississippi, Omurk, Mud, Hi-test |
| Black coffee with cream | Black nd White |
| Boiled eggs | Drown the Kids |
| Bone | Beef Stick |
| Booth | Gallery |
| Bread and butter | B and B, B&B |
| Bread and water | Lord's Supper, Angel Food Cake and Wine |
| Bromo-Seltzer | Shot Out of the Blue Bottle, Blue Bottle |
| Burnt or toast | Cremate |
| Burnt on the outside, rare on the inside | Pittsburgh Rare |
| Butter | Axle Grease, Cow Paste, Oil, Skid Grease, Cow to Cover |
| Buttered toast | Dough Well Done With Cow to Cover |
| Buttered toast with jam | Shingle With A Shimmy And a Shake |
| Buttermilk | Billiard, Arizona |
| Cabbage | Wreath |
| Cancel the order | Eighty-six |
| Carbonated water | Soda |
| Cash register | Bank, Black Box |
| Castor oil in soda | C.O. Cocktail |
| Cereal or breakfast | Birdseed |
| Cheeseburger | C.B. |
| Cherries | Maiden's Delight |
| Cherry Pie | Virtue |
| Cherry Coke | Shoot One in the Red |
| Chicken-fried steak with eggs | Barnyard Pileup |
| Chicken and egg sandwich | Family Reunion |
| Chili | Hot One, Bowl of Red, Red Bull, Bowl on Fire |
| Chocolate float | Burn It And Let It Swim |
| Chocolate ice cream | Bucket of Cold Mud, Black Ball, Cold Mud |
| Chocolate ice cream cone | Black Stick |
| Chocolate malted milk | Black and White |
| Chocolate malted milkshake with egg | Twist It, Choke It, Make it Cackle |
| Chocolate milk | Brown Cow |
| Chocolate milk, or chocolate soda with chocolate ice cream | Black Cow, All Black, Black Bottom |
| Chocolate milkshake with chocolate ice cream | Burn One All The Way, Double Black Cow |
| Chocolate pudding | Ant Paste |
| Chocolate pudding, sprinkled with powdered malt | Dusty Miller |
| Chocolate soda, small | Harlem Midget |
| Chocolate soda | Harlem Soda, Choc In |
| Chocolate soda with vanilla ice cream | Black and White, High Yellow, Black and White, Rhinelander |
| Chocolate syrup, milk and soda | Egg Cream |
| Coca Cola | Atlanta, Atlanta Special, Stretch, Small Stretch |
| Coca-Cola with a cherry | Stretch One and Paint it Red |
| Coca-Cola with chocolate syrup | Drag One Through Georgia |
| Coca-Cola with no ice | Drown One, Hold the Hail |
| Coconut pie | Coke Pie |
| Codfish | Well-dressed diner |
| Coffee | A Cup of Mud, Cup 'o Joe, Draw One, Java, Joe, Murk, Beans To Go, Belly Warmer, Dirty Water, Draw One Muddy, Hot Spot, Add Another, Draw Some Mud |
| Coffee and cake | Coffee And |
| Coffee and a doughnut | Coffee And, Sinkers and Suds |
| Coffee made from half regular beans, half chicory | Suthun Coffee |
| Coffee made with all chicory | Cowboy Coffee |
| Coffee with a cream and two sugars | Coffee Regular |
| Coffee with cream and sugar | Blonde with Sand, Blonde and Sweet, Hot Blonde in the Sand |
| Coffee with cream | Blonde |
| Cook until well done | Burn It, Cream It |
| Cookbook | Bible |
| Corn flakes | Elephant Dandruff |
| Corned beef and cabbage | Irish Turkey, St. Pats |
| Cover with sauce | Douse It |
| Cracker | Dog Biscuit |
| Cracker and cheese | Dog and Maggot |
| Cream cheese and jelly | C.J. Boston |
| Cream cheese and jelly on white bread | C.J. White |
| Cream cheese on date nut bread | Sissy Nut |
| Cream cheese, usually on a bagel | Schmeer |
| Custard pie | Magoo |
| Customer leaving without paying | Ninety-Five |
| Customer who doesn't tip | George Eddy |
| Dish of meat, potato, and vegetable served on a plate (usually blue) sectioned in three parts | Blue-Plate Special |
| Dishwasher | Bubble Dancer |
| Don't break the yolks | Let the Sun Shine |
| Doughnuts | Life Preservers, Sinkers, Belly Chokers, Choker Holes, Submarines |
| Doughnuts with hot chocolate | Life Preservers With A Hot Top |
| Dozen raw oysters | Twelve Alive in a Shell |
| Dr. Pepper | M.D. |
| Draft beer | Creep |
| Dropped in a bowl of milk | And Cinnamon |
| Egg salad sandwich | Chicken in the Hay |
| Eggs | Cackle fruit, Cackleberries, Hen Nuts, Henberries, Arches, Berries, Cluck |
| Eggs briefly cooked and flipped | Easy Over |
| Eggs and bacon | Cluck and Grunt, Two Dots and A Dash |
| Eggs are fried without flipping them, so the yolk looks just like a sun on white background | Sunny-Side Up, Sunny Brook (if bacon included) |
| Eggs benedict | Pope Benedict |
| Eggs on toast | Chicks on a Raft |
| Eggs over easy | Kiss the pan |
| Eggs turned over, the yolk begins to solidify | Flop Two, Over Medium |
| Eggs turned over, with yolk runny | Flop Two Over Easy, Forty-Two |
| Eggs, typically boiled | Hen Fruit |
| Eggs flipped and cooked until the yolk is solid all the way through | Flop Two, Over Hard |
| Eggs fried with yolks unbroken | Fry Two, Let the Sun Shine |
| Employee who steals food | Bender |
| Evaporated milk | Canned Cow |
| Fast, as in "Fries, on a rail!" | On a Rail |
| Fatty Food | Biscuit Grabber |
| Fish dinner | Friday's Choice |
| Food | Belly Furniture |
| Fountain man | Lady Bug |
| Four of anything | Bridge, Bridge Party |
| Franks and beans | Hounds on an Island, Abbott & Costello |
| French fries | Frog Sticks, Frog Fries, Side of Joan of Arc |
| French toast | Biddy Board |
| Fruit cobbler | Barked Pie |
| Garlic | Bronx Vanilla, Halitosis, Italian Perfume |
| Girl at table with attractive legs | Eighty-Seven and a Half |
| Glass of ice | Bucket of Hail |
| Grapefruit juice | Battery Acid |
| Grilled American cheese sandwich | Jack, GAC |
| Grilled cheese with bacon | Jackback, Jack Benny |
| Grilled cheese with tomato | Jack Tommy |
| Grilled cheese, bacon and tomato | Full House |
| Ham | Noah's Boy |
| Ham and eggs | Eternal Twins |
| Ham (sometimes a sausage) sandwich | Pigs in a Blanket, Pigs between the Sheets |
| Ham and potatoes with cabbage | Noah's Boy with Murphy Carrying a Wreath |
| Ham sandwich | Noah Boy On Bread |
| Hamburger | Wimpy |
| Hamburger well done | Hockey Puck |
| Hamburger with lettuce, tomato and onion | Burn One, Take It Through the Garden and Pin a Rose on It, Walk a Cow Through the Garden |
| Hamburger with onions | Chewed With Fine Breath, Burger with Breath |
| Hamburger without anything | Plain & Dry, Dry |
| Hamburger, hotdog, sandwich or similar with all condiments on it | Drag It Through the Garden, The Works |
| Hardboiled eggs and flour gravy over toast | Nun's Toast |
| Hash | Customer Will Take a Chance, Gentleman Will Take a Chance, Sweep the Floor, Yesterday Today and Forever, Sweep the Kitchen, Sweepings, Take a Chance |
| Hash or hamburger | Clean Up the Kitchen |
| Hash brown patties, hash browns | Idaho Cakes, Spike On an Oval |
| Heavy eater | Bean Buster |
| Hot chocolate | Fifty-One, Hot Top, Hot Cha |
| Hot dog | Bowwow, Bun Pup, Coney Island, Coney Island Chicken, Coney Island Bloodhound, Groundhog, Tube Steak, Bark |
| Hot dog with ketchup | Paint a Bow-wow Red |
| Hot dog and sauerkraut | Bloodhounds in the Hay |
| Hot dog with steamed bun and relish | Chicago Dog |
| Hot dog with mustard and cheese | Kansas Dog |
| Hungarian goulash | Quail |
| Ice | Hail |
| Ice cream added to drink | Bottom |
| Ice cream floated on top | Let It Swim |
| Ice cream soda | Jerk |
| Ice cream man | Saltwater man |
| Iced coffee | Frosty Joe |
| Iced tea | Cold Spot, English Winter, Leaves In The Hail |
| Intoxicated | Back Teeth Afloat |
| Irish Coffee | Jack O'Malley |
| Jello | Nervous Pudding, Shivering Liz |
| Ketchup | Lighthouse, Hemorrhage, Red Lead |
| Leave without paying the bill | Dine and Dash |
| Lemon meringue pie | Corrugated Roof |
| Lemonade | Forty-One |
| Lettuce | Rabbit Food |
| Lettuce alone | Honeymoon Salad |
| Limeade | Twenty-One |
| Link sausages | Log Roll |
| Liver and onions | Put Out the Lights and Cry |
| Look at the pretty girl who just came in | Check the Ice |
| Malted milk powder | Hops |
| Maple syrup | Vermont |
| Margarine or butter | Smear |
| Marmalade | Mama |
| Marmalade on toast | Mama on a Raft |
| Mashed potatoes | Fog |
| Matzoh ball soup | Hot Balls |
| Mayonnaise | Mayo |
| Meatloaf | Butcher's Revenge |
| Melted Swiss cheese | Melting Snow |
| Microwave oven | Radar Range |
| Milk | Baby Juice, Cow Juice, Five, Moo Juice, Sweet Alice, Baby, Bovine Extract, Give |
| Milk shake | Velvet, Shake It |
| Milk toast (buttered toast sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and dropped in a bowl of warm milk) | Graveyard Stew |
| Minced or chipped beef with gravy on toast | Shit On A Shingle, SOS |
| Mushrooms | Z |
| Mustard | Missisippi, Mississippi Mud, Yellow Paint, Baby Sauce |
| Napkin | Bib |
| No ice | Hold the Hail |
| No lettuce | Keep off the Grass |
| Oatmeal | Hope |
| Olives | Warts |
| Omelette made with ham | Hamlette |
| On Toast | Down |
| Onion | Breath, Bad Breath |
| Orange juice | Hug One, Oh Gee, Oh Jay, Squeeze, Squeeze One, Sun Kiss, Florida Tonic |
| Over easy | Messy |
| Overcharge a rude customer | Bend The Crab |
| Oysters rolled in bacon and served on toast | Angels on Horseback |
| Pancakes | Blowout Patches, Stack, Short Stack, Tall Stack |
| Pancakes with maple syrup | Stack of Vermont |
| Pancakes with no butter or syrup | Dry Stack |
| Pea soup | Frenchman's delight |
| Peach pie | Georgia Pie |
| Pepper | Sneeze |
| Pickle | Cowcumber |
| Pineapple soda with chocolate ice cream | Hoboken Special |
| Pineapple sundae | Chicago |
| Plain chocolate milk | P.C. |
| Plain sandwich without butter, mayonnaise, or lettuce | High and dry |
| Poached egg | Deadeye |
| Pork chops | Flat Car |
| Pot of tea | PT |
| Potatoes | Murphy |
| Prunes | Looseners, Old Maids |
| Prunes rolled in bacon, served on toast | Devils on Horseback |
| Pudding of pea soup and flour or hardtack | Dog's Body |
| Put a hamburger on the grill | Burn One |
| Put ketchup on an item | Paint It Red |
| Put cheese on an item | Drag One Through Wisconsin |
| Raisin cake or huckleberry pie | Fly Cake, Roach Cake |
| Rare and bloody meat | On the Hoof, Make It Moo, Black and Blue, Still Mooing, With Horns On |
| Rare rump steak | Slab of Moo -- Let Him Chew It |
| Raw | Alive |
| Repeat the order | Echo |
| Rice pudding | China |
| Rice pudding with ice cream | Ice on Rice, Ice the Rice |
| Roast beef or hamburger | Bessie |
| Roast beef sandwich | Bossie on a Board |
| Root beer | Fifty-Five, Suds, Black Water, Black Cow |
| Row of diner seats | Bald-Headed Row |
| Rye bread | Whiskey |
| Rye toast | Whiskey Down |
| Salad | Cow Feed |
| Salt | Sea Dust |
| Salt and pepper shakers | Mike and Ike, The Twins, Side Arms |
| Sandwich maker | Angel |
| Sandwich with everything | All The Way |
| Sandwich without lettuce | Hold the Grass |
| Sausage | Zeppelins |
| Sausages in mashed potatoes | Zeppelins in a fog |
| Scramble | Wreck |
| Scramble the eggs | Wreck 'em |
| Scrambled eggs | Broken Henberries, Busted |
| Scrambled eggs with onions | Wrecked and Crying |
| Scrambled eggs and orange juice | Wrecked Hen with Fruit |
| Seltzer or soda water | Alka Seltzer, Balloon Juice, Belch Water, Balloon Water |
| Serve as a side dish | In the Alley |
| Serve without relish | Cut the Grass |
| Served with all the toppings | All the Way |
| Served with mashed potatoes | In a Fog |
| Served with mustard and relish | Mickey Rooney |
| Shot of whiskey | Ball of Fire |
| Shredded wheat | Baled Hay |
| Side order of hash | Mystery in the Alley |
| Sleepy counterman | Bedsteader |
| Small restaurant | Bing |
| Soda fountain worker | Soda Jerk |
| Soda jerk who doesn't know his business | Pop Boy |
| Soda made of all flavors available | Swamp Water |
| Soda with no ice | Hold the Hair |
| Soup | Guess Water, Bellywash |
| Spaghetti | Foreign Entanglements |
| Spareribs | First Lady |
| Spiked with magnesium citrate (laxative) | Mary Garden |
| Spinach | Popeye |
| Steak sandwich | Rubber in a Bun |
| Steak well-done | Saddle It |
| Stewed, dried peaches | Athlete's Foot |
| Strawberry gelatin | Shivering Hay, Jack Benny in the Red |
| Strawberry ice cream | Pink Stick |
| Strawberry milk shake | In the Hay, Shake One in the Hay |
| Strawberry pancakes | Haystack |
| Straws | Pipes |
| Strong coffee | Hi-test |
| Strong cola | Shoot One From the South |
| Sugar | Sand, Yum-yum |
| Sugar bowl | Gravel Train |
| Sundae | Glob |
| Swiss cheese sandwich | One From the Alps |
| Swiss steak, baked | Baked Alaska |
| Syrup | Machine Oil, Motor Oil |
| Table knife | Chopper |
| Take out order | Late Walk |
| Tall stack of pancakes | Jayne Mansfield |
| Tapioca | Cat's Eyes, Fish Eyes |
| Tea | Boiled Leaves, Hot Spot, Scandal Soup |
| Tea with lemon | Spot With A Twist |
| Three of anything | Crowd |
| Three scoops of vanilla, with red, green and white cherries | Traffic Light Sundae |
| To dispense a beverage on tap | Draw |
| Toast | Raft, Pittsburgh, Wheat Down (wheat bread) |
| Toast the bread | Cremate It |
| Toasted blueberry muffin cut into several pieces -- the muffin must have a crispy top. | Cremate a blue, bikini cut |
| Toasted English muffin | Burn the British |
| Tomato juice with black coffee | Alleviator |
| Tomato soup | Splash of Red Noise |
| Tomatoes | Love Apples |
| Toothpick | Lumber |
| Topped with sour cream and salsa | Red and White |
| Tuna salad sandwich on toast | Radio, Tuna Down |
| Two cups of coffee | Pair of Drawers |
| Two fried eggs, over easy | Flop Two |
| Two hamburgers with onions | Two Cows, Make 'em Cry |
| Two hot chocolates | Fifty-Two |
| Two orders, each with two eggs over, along with sausage and whole wheat toast | Two Over with Sausage, Wheat Down Two Times |
| Two poached eggs | Drop Two |
| Two poached eggs on toast | Adam and Eve on a Raft |
| Two poached eggs with a sausage link | Adam and Eve on a Log |
| Two scrambled eggs | Scrape Two, Wreck a Pair |
| Vanilla ice cream scoop | Snowball |
| Vanilla milkshake | White cow |
| Vanilla soda with chocolate ice cream | Canary island Special |
| Vanilla pudding | Sleigh Ride Special |
| Vegetable soup | Splash Out of the Garden |
| Very rare | Bloody |
| Vinegar | Acid |
| Waffle | Checkerboard |
| Waitress | Soup Jockey |
| Waitress got a tip | Carfare |
| Waitress/cook that can't keep up with the tables | In the Weeds |
| Waitress who jumps from job to job | Barnstormer, Base Runner |
| Water | City Juice, Eighty-One, One On the City, Wind Mill, Windmill Cocktail, Adam's Ale, Dog Soup, Aqua Pura, City Cocktail, Hudson River Ale, One On The House |
| Weak | All Arms and Legs |
| Western omelet or sandwich | Cowboy |
| Western omelet with French fries | Cowboy with Spurs |
| Western omelet with lettuce and tomato | Cowboy takes LT |
| Wheat toast | Brown Down |
| Whipped Cream | Winter |
| With onion | Takes a Flower, Corsage |
| Without milk | No Cow |
| Your heart | Biscuit |