If Your Bartender Shouts '50', You Might Want To Duck

There's nothing like hearing a bit of lingo from your servers to make you feel delighted, if not a little bit confused. You may hear it at a restaurant, a diner (although they may side-eye you if you try it yourself), or a bar. But what, exactly, do all those words and numbers thrown around by bartenders mean? Well, let's start with one you'll want to know right off the bat for your own well-being, if nothing else. If you hear a bartender say "50," it's a good idea to duck, because they're about to toss a bottle of liquor at somebody.

Granted, they're probably not tossing it directly at you. The practice originated in flair bartending, the flashy style popularized by TGI Friday's and the movie "Cocktail" (for which a TGI Friday's bartender actually helped train Tom Cruise). When you're working a busy night, time is of the essence — if somebody is out of tequila and needs to borrow someone else's, they may not have time to ask, "Hey, could you give me some of your tequila?" Nor would their partner have the time to walk over and physically hand them the bottle. So a quick "50!" and a (hopefully underhanded) toss will do the job.

"50" isn't the only number you'll hear bartenders throw around (along with their bottles — like we said, watch your head). There's "86," which means that a bartender is completely out of a given drink; if you hear a bartender tell their buddy "86 on gin," you might have to wait a while for your Tom Collins, no matter how perfect it is for the summer. There are a few variations of 86, too, like 85 (a bottle is almost empty, much like how 85 is almost 86) or 68 (the opposite of 86, meaning a new bottle has been acquired).

But there are other codes, and some more important than others. There's an "angel shot," which isn't actually a drink at all. It's something a patron can order to alert a bartender that a certain person is making them feel unsafe, allowing the bartender to call a taxi or get somebody to lead them out to their car. Conversely, there are phrases bartenders can say to let their coworkers know that there's an especially attractive customer. (The exact phrase depends on where you are and how many bartenders frequent a given bar as guests.)