86

[Don Corathers]

Arthur:

> unconsciously, that Dave Monroe failed to note that to
> 86 is to kill, destroy, annhilate. Either way or no



I don 't have my 40 pounds of slang dictionaries at hand to confirm this,
but it's my recollection that "86" is thought to have originated in
restaurant kitchens. When the kitchen ran out of a special or menu item on a
busy evening, the wait staff would be told to "86 the Parsnip Surprise" or
whatever, meaning to stop taking orders for it. So while it may have taken
on the more aggressive connotations suggested by Arthur, the expression
first meant simply to make unavailable--a meaning that seems consistent with
Pynchon's usage in the Intro.

I can pursue this in the Random House next time I'm in the same room with
it, if anybody's interested.

Peace,
Don