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86

Posted by Lewis on January 27, 2003

In Reply to: 86 posted by R. Berg on January 27, 2003

: : After years of working in restaurants, I asked a manager where the term "86" came from. He said that it was an old English term, deriving from the pubs. A person who was 86'd was someone who was too drunk and was limited to 86 proof.

: Hmm, 86 proof seems pretty strong for a customer who's already too drunk. The archived discussion linked below (www.phrases.org.uk bulletin_board 4 messages 1014.html) offers some alternative ideas about the origin.

Isn't there a term 85 for a subnormal as used in an Alien film - it was about IQ - don't know if that helps. Drinking so much your IQ drops?

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