rain check

or raincheck

noun

1. a ticket for future use given to spectators at an outdoor event, as a baseball game or concert, that has been postponed or interrupted by rain.
2. an offered or requested postponement of an invitation until a more convenient, usually unspecified time:

   Since you can't join us for dinner, we'll give you a rain check.

3. a ticket, coupon, or the like, entitling a customer to purchase at a later date and for the same amount a sale item that is temporarily out of stock.

rain check

noun

1. a ticket stub for a baseball or other game that allows readmission on a future date if the event is cancelled because of rain
2. the deferral of acceptance of an offer, esp a voucher issued to a customer wishing to purchase a sale item that is temporarily out of stock, enabling him or her to buy it at the special price when next the item is available
3. take a rain check informal.
   to accept the postponement of an offer

Word History and Origins

Origin of rain check¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Idioms and Phrases

A promise that an unaccepted offer will be renewed in the future, as in I can't come to dinner Tuesday but hope you'll give me a rain check . This term comes from baseball, where in the 1880s it became the practice to offer paying spectators a rain check entitling them to future admission for a game that was postponed or ended early owing to bad weather. By the early 1900s the term was transferred to tickets for other kinds of entertainment, and later to a coupon entitling a customer to buy, at a later date and at the same price, a sale item temporarily out of stock.

Example Sentences

And she advises that if the holiday itself feels too difficult, consider offering a rain check.

From Salon

“Can I take a rain check?” says Dad.

From Literature

Most businesses got rid of handing out rain checks.

From Seattle Times

The Forest Service forbids resale or transfer of permits, and there are no rain checks.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr. Musk’s taking a rain check on blue checks.

From New York Times