Slang: 1930s to 1940s Slang

The finest examples of American food slang were heard at the lunch counters, diners, and soda fountains of the 1930s to 1940s. The slang of the lunch counter and diner was vibrant and reflected a young and hopeful nation. In his Hash House Lingo (1941), Jack Smiley observes that there was no limit “to the lengths to which the bright boys behind the marble counters have extended themselves to outdo the other fellow with fantastic, grotesque or witty labels for food combinations from the kitchen.” The witty use of fabricated slang by lunch counter and diner employees in the several decades leading up to World War II was unprecedented in the history of food language and has not been matched since. From “Adam’s ale” for water, “cow paste” for butter, “flop two” for two fried eggs over, “guess water” for soup, “hounds on an island” for frankfurters with beans, “Mike and Ike” for salt and pepper shakers, “one from the Alps” for a Swiss cheese sandwich, “raft” for a slice of toast, to “yum-yum” for sugar—the smart humor and creativity of the slang slingers is striking. As Smiley notes, those who toiled in the working-class American eateries were “urged on by an appreciative audience” and were thus “induced to bring forth all the fresh expressions “their” wits might concoct.”