eighty-six

American  

[ey-tee-siks] / ˈeɪ tiˈsɪks /

Or 86

noun

1. a cardinal number, 80 plus 6.

2. a symbol for this number, as 86 or LXXXVI.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. Slang. a customer considered undesirable or unwelcome and refused service at a bar or restaurant.

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adjective

1. amounting to 86 in number.

2. Slang. sold out; out of stock.

verb (used with object)

Slang.

1. to refuse to serve (an undesirable or unwelcome customer) at a bar or restaurant.

2. to reject; discard.

Etymology

Origin of eighty-six

First recorded in 1930–35, as slang term in bars and restaurants; sense “refuse” perhaps as rhyming slang for nix ¹

Example Sentences

Or Mama would have me figure out how much change we should get at the checkout at the store, and I’d say, “Seven dollars and eighty-six cents.”

From Literature

“One hundred and eighty-six. That’s even more orbs than you had before.”

From Literature

Between eighty-six and ninety-four steps to the corner where the crossing guard, Ms. Post, stands.

From Literature

The hedge fund that had bought the company had already tried to eighty-six Freds’ rosy sautéed chicken livers over sourdough toast, proving once again that money can’t buy taste.

From New York Times

That totaled eighty-six cents, for lunch and dinner.

From Literature