English Explanatory Dictionary

write checks one can't cash

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To make promises one cannot keep, or to make boasts that are not true.

Word forms

write checks one can't cash writes checks one can't cash writing checks one can't cash wrote checks one couldn't cash written checks one couldn't cash write cheques one can't cash

Etymology

A check (or "cheque" in British English) is a document that orders a financial institution to pay a specific amount of money. The money would be taken from the account of the person who wrote the check and paid to the person in whose name the check has been issued. If one writes a check for an amount of money one does not have available in the associated account, also known as writing a bad check, the resulting check cannot be cashed by the receiving party. In this situation, a promise of payment was made by writing the check, but the promise is not honored due to insufficient funds.

Related words

overpromise put one's money where one's mouth is
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