L.A. SPEAK

Waiters and waitresses (Waitpeople? Servers, maybe?) dish up a language all their own:

campers: n. diners who linger forever at a table. “I’ve got a pair of campers on table five. They must think this is a KOA.”

Clampetts: n. customers who lack basic social skills. From “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

dragging: v. to be missing--and waiting for--part of an order from the kitchen. “I’m dragging a dinner salad.”

fazed: v. not scheduled to work a shift. “I’m fazed for lunch duty tomorrow.”

in the weeds: extremely busy, to the point of breakdown from fatigue. “I’ve been in the weeds since 4 o’clock!”

red flag: n. a warning from a server to the manager to watch a customer who’s had a lot to drink. “Red flag on table two.”

Romper Room: n. a table that sports a brood of messy children.

slammed: v. when customers are seated at several tables in one server’s area at the same time. “I got slammed by the manager even though Joanne only had one table!”