to "86" something...

So today, a friend posted to her Facebook wall a link and then posted to "86" a certain part of the post.  Well, this caused my mind to wonder and you know where that went...to further investigation.  I was challenged to understand this "strange" term, it's meanings and more importantly, it's origin.  Well, did I find a PLETHORA of information.  Seems there is NO consensus on WHERE this actually originated but there sure are a lot of opinions on the matter.  I thought I would share some of the highlights with you here!

First off, this is an American Expression (British people are not prone to this vernacular).  So, to start this discussion we have to get a few things right...it really is NOT ok to say, "eight-six" it is correct to say "eighty-six".  I know there are a few who think it is ok to use 8-6 in their vocabulary but it simply is NOT from what I have found to be true in my limited investigation on the matter.  86 is the term and that is the way is should be used....eighty-six!

Vague terms:
It can mean to simply get rid of something, toss it. "I'm about to 86 this piece of junk..." or someone...like firing from a job, "they 86'd me!"  Webster's suggests it was probably rhyming slang for 'nix and it first appeared in 1967 slang: to refuse to serve (a customer); also: to get rid of: THROW OUT.

In a Restaurant:

• In the kitchen when they are out of an item an announcement could be shouted, "86 on the Key Lime Pie".  This would mean that there is no more Key Lime pie for the day.
• The waiter may come to the customer and say, "The soup of the day is 86'd.  We're out."
• A fair amount of people believe the origin came from the days of the soda fountain.  86 was the password indicating they were out of an item as they had 85 flavors available.
• Some same 98 was used as code to say "the manager" was on the prowl so watch yourself!
• Another popular explanation comes from the New York City restaurant called Delmonico's.  This was a very popular place and one of their most popular items was the steak on the menu, and you guessed it, it was item 86 on their menu.  Because the steak was often sold out it became shorthand for being out of an item.
• I read that it really was originated with the soup kitchens and breadlines of the Great Depression.  The standard cauldron would hold 85 cups of soup so that the person who was 86 would get no soup!
• There is also the tale about the famous New York City restaurant called 21.  It seems that they had 85 tables here to seat patrons so when someone "undesirable" came to get a table, they would tell them they would be sent to the 86th one...which of course did not exist!

In the Bar:

• A bartender can "86" someone out of the bar because they have already had too much to drink.
• It could be said to not sell to that customer, "86 the guy in the booth".
• Interesting on this topic of bars, the New York State Liquor Code defines the circumstances in which a bar patron should be refused alcohol or, you guessed it, "86'ed".
• One of the most popular origins for this expression come from Chumley's (a famous 1900's New York speakeasy located at 86 Bedford St.)  During Prohibition, the entrance through an interior adjoining courtyard was used; for it was both discreet and private.  As per the New York tradition, cops were on Chumley's payroll and when they were about to raid the joint, they would call ahead.  The bartender would then give the command "86 everybody," which meant that everyone was to leave out the Bedford Street entrance because the cops would be coming in through the courtyard!  To this day there today at the same location with still no sign and entrance through the courtyard.
• Can't have an explanation without a cowboy tale, now can we?  Seems some take this expression way back to the Old West when most whiskey was 100 proof; they reserved bottles of 86 proof for the ladies.  Now if a cowboy got too rowdy, he would get the 86 proof served to him and this was considered in the least embarrassing so he would usually leave.

Still Other Ideas:

• Some think is has to do with a grave as they were dug 6 feet deep by 8 feet long therefore the item put in there would be dead or 86'd.  (This seems to not be a reason I would gravitate toward because I would think you would read this 8-6 and not 86'ed as we have established earlier!)
• How about this one...the streetcar line that operated on First Avenue on the east side of Manhattan ran from 14th Street to 86th.  As the Northbound car came to a stop, the motorman called out, "Eight-six.  End of the line.  All out!"
• The British merchant shipping standard crew was 85, so the 86'th would be left out.  (Again, this conflicts with above information as this was not a British slang from my readings!)
• Soldiers in America often refer to their missing soldier buddies as 86'd.  The missing in action (MIA'S) would be 86'd as this was being AWOL and in violation of the code from the UCMJ Sub Chapter X Article 86.
• One of the last reasons I found for this slang had to do with "offing" someone with the roots having to do with military action.  Another location said that it was not with the military but with the Mafia!  They would travel the distance of 86 miles out and 6 feet under meaning when a person was killed by the mafia they would be forced to dig his own grave many miles away from civilization; or the possibility of a simple variation of the slang term deep six which as the identical meaning.  It is simply meant to describe the approximate depth of water (6 fathers, 11 meters) needed for a burial at sea.  The term came into popular use among soldiers and veterans to describe missing solders then as 86's (see above).
• Finally, in you have ever seen the movie An Affair to Remember or Sleepless in Seattle you would be familiar with the scene where they are to meet on the top of the Empire State Building. All the elevators would go to the 86th floor and everyone would have to leave the elevator.  Well these movies have a positive twist to the top of the building but it was also known for a dark side; this public outdoor observatory was also the site of more than 30 suicides.  The building opened in 1931, apparently a few years before the term became popular - 86'ed.

So as you can see, there are MANY ideas to the origin and many times suggested on when it was coined.  Really don't know but I sure like a few of the ideas!