Times Union photo illustration.

Early in my career, I worked for my hometown weekly newspaper on Long Island. It was one of two papers in town. Our competitor was aligned with Democrats; mine was aligned with Republicans.

It was not uncommon throughout American history for papers to be so politically aligned. These days, though, most strive for objectivity on the news side and editorial boards tend to be, if anything, more ideological than partisan, giving grief to politicians of all stripes if and when they deserve it.

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Going back to 1982, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Lewis Lehrman, came to town for a campaign speech, and we covered it. But when I asked if we were also covering an appearance by Democratic Lt. Gov. Mario Cuomo, my publisher said no, explaining that we did not want to “confuse” our readers.

How could we not cover both candidates, I asked, to which my editor, leaning close, whispered, “Eighty-six it.”

Though I’d never heard the term before, I got it: Drop the idea. And that’s essentially what most people, and dictionaries, understand “eighty-six” to mean: nix it. It supposedly originated in the 1930s as a restaurant slang for either a menu item that wasn’t available or a customer who was not to be served.

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