hurry up the cakes

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

i.e. Be quick; look alive. This phrase, which has lately got into vogue, originated in the common New York eating-houses, where it is the custom for the waiters to bawl out the name of each dish as fast as ordered, that the person who serves up may get it ready without delay, and where the order, 'Hurry up them cakes,' &c., is frequently heard.

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