Nelly Min

Reader's question:

Uh, could we do a rain check? Edie and I are just looking over the plans to rebuild her house. I am taking a rain check on your offer.

Could you explain "rain check"?

My comments:

Rain check is a promise or commitment by a seller to a buyer that an item currently out of stock can be purchased at a later date for today's sale price. The term originated from baseball; spectators at games that were postponed because of rain would receive a check that could be used to attend a future game.

But now it is used more commonly, to refer to meet at another time, as in a date or a meeting. It can also mean to postpone something.

Example: Let's go to lunch. I can't today. Can I get a rain check on that?

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About the author:

Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily website.