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

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The OED has the “restaurant bill” sense of check in 1869 as mentioned
in my previous post and Gerry’s note.

[Begin OED citation excerpt]
1868   A. D. Whitney Patience Strong's Outings 128   I let her settle
for the dinner checks.
[End excerpt]

There is some ambiguity in the above citation. It would be helpful to
explore earlier citations.

Conjecture: The “restaurant bill” sense of check evolved from the
“dinner check” sense explored below.

It appears that a “dinner check” referred to a voucher or ticket that
enabled the bearer to obtain a meal. Here is a pertinent citation in
1847.

Date: March 1, 1847
Volume 6, Number 5
Periodical: The Freemason's Monthly Magazine
Periodical Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Quote Page 136

https://books.google.com/books?id=9_sqAAAAYAAJ&q=%22dinner+check%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
That a member of the Order dining without an invitation, must pay £3
for a dinner check previous to his admission.
[End excerpt]

In the following 1856 citation the “check” was for a beer accompanying a meal.

Date: June 05, 1856
Newspaper: Trewman's Exeter Flying Post
Newspaper Location: Exeter, Devon, England
Topic: Peace Rejoicings - Cullompton
Quote Page 3, Column 4
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
The dinner was served up hot, and 950 guests were made happy. After
dinner a check was given to each man, entitling him to a quart of beer
extra to enjoy-himself.
[End excerpt]

In 1857 it appears that workers were given “dinner checks” which they
used as a form of quasi-currency (shinplaster was paper money of low
denomination).

Date: October 15, 1857
Newspaper: New-York Tribune
Newspaper Location: New York, New York
Article: Checks For Change
Quote Page 7, Column 2
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
CHECKS FOR CHANGE.-We hear that some of the publicans in the lower
part of the city are giving their dinner-checks in change for bills.
This is a new kind of shin-plaster and may lead to a price-current
something like "Fine French de laine, one breakfast per yard; Grand
Concert, admission roast beef and plum pudding; children, pudding
only."
[End excerpt]

Here is part of a poem from 1862. The distrust of banks was evident in
this poem. Some people relied on “checks for dinner, and checks for a
smoke”.

Date: November 20, 1862
Newspaper: The Dollar Weekly Bulletin
Newspaper Location: Maysville, Kentucky
Poem: On Change
Author: Ethel Lynn
Quote Page 1, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106902504/checks-for-dinner/

[Begin excerpt]
There's naught but the moon
That changes in silver - and she may stop soon;
Issue shinplaster clouds, leaving us to depend
On her promise to shine when warfare shall end.
There are checks for dinner, and checks for a smoke,
And checks on a bank that may chance to be broke;
And wonderful loans that all promise to pay
Some mythical sum on some mythical day.
[End excerpt]

In the examples above, it appears one pays a fixed price in advance
for a “dinner check”. Alternatively, a “dinner check” might be part of
wages. Clearly, this sense differs from the modern sense in which one
typically pays after a meal and the amount is variable.

If someone pays for a “dinner check” then the terms “dinner bill” and
“dinner check” become blurred.

It would be nice to find some citations illustrating an evolution of
the meaning. These distinctions are not rigid. It is easy to imagine
paying for the “dinner check” after a meal. This corresponds to a
modern prix fixe restaurant. Further, some modern restaurants collect
payments before a meal.

Garson

On Wed, Aug 3, 2022 at 6:39 PM Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at mst.edu> wrote:
>
> My thanks to those who have brainstormed on restaurant "check," some in private messages.
> Here now is one definition of "check" (noun #1) in OED3:
> "14. A means to ensure accuracy, correctness, security from fraud, etc."
>
> This seems to fit well with the 1901 newspaper article presented by Peter Reitan, in which
> restaurant proprietors have to be on the lookout for dishonest customers.
>
> Gerald Cohen
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org