Take a Rain Check: Origin and Meaning

If you ‘take a rain check’, you cannot accept an invitation now but you would like to at a later date.

This idiom originated in America in the 1800s. If a baseball game was cancelled due to bad weather, the spectators were given a ‘raincheck’ (a voucher) which meant that they could go back and watch another game.

“Do you mind if I take a rain check on dinner next week? Tom is taking me on a surprise trip.”

“I would love to go to the cinema but I’m busy on Sunday. Can we take a rain check?”

Alex: “Fancy a game of tennis this afternoon?”
Josh: “Thanks mate but I’ll have to take a rain check. I’m not feeling very well today.”