86 (term)

—is one of several origin stories of the term There are many theories about its origin. An article in St Louis Magazine enumerates 18, and suggests that there are "about 86 theories". Possible origins include: • Rhyming slang for nix. The website Snopes posits that the most likely derivation is from the slang "nix," which "carries a clear meaning of 'say no to, turn down, forbid,' which is the primary meaning ascribed to 86". • Part of the jargon used by soda jerks. Walter Winchell wrote about this in 1933, in his syndicated On Broadway column. In this, the code 13 meant that a boss was around, 81 was a glass of water and 86 meant "all out of it". In 1936, Professor Harold Bentley of Columbia University studied soda jerk jargon and reported other numeric codes such as 95 for a customer leaving without paying. • The author Jef Klein theorized that the bar Chumley's at 86 Bedford Street in the West Village in Lower Manhattan was the source. Chumley's had multiple entrances on different streets, and Klein's book The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York claims that, during Prohibition, the police would call the bar before making a raid and tell the bartender to "86" his customers. This meant that they should exit out the 86 Bedford Street door, while the police would come to the Pamela Court entrance. • Article 86 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice defines the offense of Absence without leave. == Usage ==

Eighty-six is used in restaurants and bars, according to most American slang dictionaries. Beyond this context, it is generally means to get rid of someone or something. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) says it may be used as a noun or verb. As a noun, "In restaurants and bars, an expression indicating that the supply of an item is exhausted, or that a customer is not to be served; also, a customer to be refused service. Also transferred." As a transitive verb derived from the noun, it means "to eject or debar (a person) from premises; to reject or abandon". The OED gives examples of usage from 1933 to 1981; for example, in the 1972 film The Candidate, a media adviser says to Robert Redford's character, "OK, now, for starters, we got to cut your hair and eighty-six the sideburns". According to ''Cassell's Dictionary of Slang'', "to 86" can alternatively mean "to kill, to murder; to execute judicially". Other slang dictionaries also contain this definition. The website Snopes posits that the most likely derivation of the term is from the slang "nix," which "carries a clear meaning of 'say no to, turn down, forbid,' which is the primary meaning ascribed to 86". == In popular culture ==

The term 86 is prominent in the light novel series 86 and its subsequent anime adaptation. In the world of the series, the main setting of the Republic of San Magnolia is divided into 86 districts, with the 86th housing all of the country's minority populations that are collectively given the pejorative "86", meaning that they were discarded by society. Automotive • In 1983, Toyota released the Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin using the chassis code AE86, sometimes known as just 86. The car gained worldwide popularity for drifting, and in the anime and manga, Initial D. In 2012, Toyota released the 86 sports car, named after the original AE86 models. Music • The 1947 song "Boogie Woogie Blue Plate", by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, uses soda-jerk lingo, among which is "86 on the cherry pie". • The narrator of the 1975 song "Eggs and Sausage" by Tom Waits says, "I've been 86ed from your scheme" . • The 1995 song "86" by Green Day is about them being rejected from their punk rock community when they started achieving commercial success. • The song "The Remedy" by Puscifer on their 2015 album Money Shot contains the lyrics "Trolls receive 86s". • The song "Cliches" by Jimmy Buffett, includes the line: "She's eighty-sixed from the chartroom..." suggesting that the woman in the song-was no longer doing some type of corporate work, had been fired, or that she put that corporate life behind her. Stage and screen • Agent 86 in the 1960s TV show Get Smart gets his code number from the term. • The 2018 comedy crime film ''86'd'' by Alan Palomo depicts five stories taking place at a 24-hour deli with a theme song composed under his Neon Indian moniker. Literature • The 1989 novel Eighty-sixed by David B. Feinberg refers to "the gay community wiped out by AIDS". It won Feinberg the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Men's Fiction and the American Library Association Gay/Lesbian Award for Fiction. • The 2009 novel ''86'd'' by Dan Fante is loosely based on his own struggles with alcoholism and substance abuse. United States politics In 1996, The Nation dismissed the administration of Bill Clinton firing travel office employees by writing "assume that Hillary [Clinton] personally eighty-sixed seven travel office employees ... AT&T; fired 44,000 and nobody said a word." 8664 was a freeway removal advocacy group in Louisville, Kentucky, who in the early 2000s advocated for the removal of Interstate 64 along Louisville's riverfront. A 2017 TMZ article described then President Donald Trump as having "86'd Black History Month." In 2018, a restaurant owner asked then White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave, and later described the request as "I'd 86'd Sanders." In October of 2020, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer appeared from her home on the television show Meet the Press, displaying a small pin in the background featuring the numbers "86 45". Many on the right and in the administration of the 45th president, Donald Trump, claimed it was a reference to assassination, though there is no evidence the incident was investigated by the Justice Department. In 2022, alt-right conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec tweeted "8646", and also used it as a code for merchandise calling for then-president Joe Biden's impeachment. The sale of T shirts, hats and stickers with "86 46" was widespread during the Biden presidency. In a February 2024 tweet, Matt Gaetz, then member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 1st congressional district, wrote that House speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, and Senator Mitch McConnell had been "86'd" from their leadership positions. James Comey In May 2025, former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey posted a photo on Instagram that prominently displayed the numbers "86 47" with some arranged seashells on a sandy beach. Trump told Fox News' Bret Baier that Comey was "calling for the assassination of the president." The Trump administration said the Secret Service was investigating Comey's "86 47" social media post. Many of the Republicans, including Matt Gaetz and Jack Posobiec, who said they were enraged by Comey's use of "86" in reference to Trump, had previously directed the term at their own political opponents. He was interviewed by the Secret Service and said he did not intend any harm to the president. In April 2026, the Justice Department brought the case to a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina, which indicted Comey on charges that he made a threat against the president and transmitted a threat across state lines. Comey said he would fight the charges. He said in a video statement, "I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let's go." == External links ==