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

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 • Jul. 20, 2021

For the past few decades, church attendance in Poland has been declining; still, eighty-six per cent of Polish citizens identify as Catholic.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 22, 2019

From 2010 through 2015, Harvard admitted eighty-six per cent of recruited athletes, compared to six per cent of non-athletes, according to a filing in the recent lawsuit challenging affirmative action there.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 8, 2019

Doug, at eighty-six, is an example of a healthy man.

From Salon • Sep. 15, 2019

Eve Thurmann, who was eighty-six, stalled out on Piersall Road in her ’36 Buick, then showed up at Petersen’s with mud caked on her knees; she’d walked two miles into town.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson