rain check

Meaning

Noun

• Any voucher or note from a merchant to a customer to provide an item the merchant has run out of at a later date for the item's current price, or (in a more literal sense) to provide a service at a later date.
• In social interactions, a polite way to turn down an invitation, with the implication one is simply postponing it and that another time would be acceptable.

Origin

• 1877 US in baseball; Since at least 1870, baseball teams would reissue tickets in case of postponement due to rain, which became known as rain checks.