[Ads-l] 2nd try: Query from reporter concerning restaurant term "check"

Wed Aug 3 22:13:30 UTC 2022

The Oxford English Dictionary has some citations beginning in 1869 for
the germane sense of “a restaurant bill”. This sense is listed under:
“A means to ensure accuracy, correctness, security from fraud”.

[Begin excerpt from Oxford English Dictionary]
check n.1
14. A means to ensure accuracy, correctness, security from fraud, etc.: as
c. A restaurant bill. Chiefly U.S.

1868   A. D. Whitney Patience Strong's Outings 128   I let her settle
for the dinner checks.
1910   ‘O. Henry’ Strictly Business 192   Through an arched
opening..you thrust your waiter's check and the money.
1916   Variety 27 Oct. 12/3   Inspectors..ordered drinks and paid
their check just before one.
[End excerpt from OED]

Based on the OED entry one might conjecture that the “restaurant bill”
sense emerged from one of the earlier senses within this semantic
category. Here are senses 14.a and 14.b.

[Begin excerpt]
14. a. The counterfoil of a bank bill, draft, etc.

1706   Act 5 Anne c. 13   [Enacts that Exchequer Bills be made
henceforth with two counterfoils instead of one, and] That the said
Governor and Company [of Bk. of Eng.] shall..have the use and custody
of the one part of all and euery the Checques, Indents, or
Counterfoyls of all such Exchequer Bills..and from which the same
Exchequer Bills shall be cut.
[End excerpt]

Here is the OED definition for “counterfoil”.

[Begin excerpt]
counterfoil, n.
1. A complementary part of a bank cheque, official receipt, or the
like, which registers the particulars of the principal part, and is
retained by the person who gives out that part. It varies from a
duplicate to a mere memorandum of the contents of the part given out.
[End excerpt]

Here is the receipt sense, e.g., “luggage check”, “hat check” etc..
The first citation is dated 1812.

[Begin excerpt]
14. b. b. A token, usually a memorandum of receipt, a ticket, or piece
of metal duly stamped or numbered, used for the purpose of
identification, or as evidence of ownership or title: given, e.g. to
the owner of luggage on a railway (as in U.S.), or to one who
temporarily leaves luggage, cloaks, portable articles, at the
cloakroom of a railway station, place of entertainment, etc., to
enable him to identify and reclaim the same; to a person temporarily
leaving a theatrical performance, or going upon the platform of a
railway, to allow him to pass the gatekeeper again without payment; to
a purchaser in a co-operative or other store as his voucher for a
share in a dividend, etc., etc.
1812   H. Smith & J. Smith Rejected Addr. 117   Hark! the check taker
moody silence breaks, And bawling ‘Pit full’, gives the check he
takes.
1835   J. H. Ingraham South-West I. xxi. 223   A shouting of ‘Your
check, sir! your check!—Give me your check—Please give me your
check!..’ [for re-admission to a theatre].
[End excerpt]

To support the hypothesis that the “restaurant bill” sense evolved
from one of these earlier senses one must gather additional citations.
I have not yet gathered supporting evidence.

Garson O’Toole

On Wed, Aug 3, 2022 at 3:48 PM Peter Reitan <pjreitan at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> This accoubt from 1901 uses "check" and "bill" in the same article.  The "bill" is the amount owed, the "check" is the paper handed to the customer to be paid.
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106883416/pittsburgh-daily-post/
>
> I speculate it is related to a "check" as an instrument to be paid upon presentation, as when a bank must may a paper check in the amount on its face. Similarly, the customer pays the amount on the dinner "check" when presented.
>
> A reasonable possibility, in any case.
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at MST.EDU>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 3, 2022 2:35:15 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: 2nd try: Query from reporter concerning restaurant term "check"
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at MST.EDU>
> Subject:      2nd try:  Query from reporter concerning restaurant term "check"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dear members of ads-l,
>
>  My message about a reporter's query to me concerning "check"
> arrived partially in gibberish. Here is a second try at passing along her
> request. And again, any help would be very gratefully received.
>
> She wrote (Aug. 3, 2022, 12:11 p.m.):
>
> Hi professor Cohen,
> My name is Janet Nguyen, and I'm a reporter for the public radio
> program/website Marketplace.  I'm reaching out to you because
> I'm currently writing a piece as part of our I've Always Wondered series, w=
> here
> we answer listener questions, about why people refer to the bill at restaur=
> ants
> as "the check" (e.g. People will say "check, please!" instead of asking for
> "the bill").
>
> I was wondering if you are familiar with its origins or have any insight in=
> to why
> we might call it that.  If this is a topic you could speak to, would you ha=
> ve some time
> to chat this week before Friday?  (
>
> This would be for an online, written piece (so no audio recording would be =
> publicly posted)
>
> Your time and insight would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!
>
> Best,
>
> Janet.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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