rain-cheque

Noun

rain check (plural rain checks)

1. A reissue, at no extra charge, of a ticket for a baseball game or other outdoor event postponed or interrupted because of rain.
   • With trembling fingers he pulled out his watch. The hands pointed to five minutes to three. A blessed vision came to him of a moist and disappointed crowd receiving rain-checks up at the Polo Grounds.1920 March – 1921 February, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “Summer Storms”, in Indiscretions of Archie, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published 1921, →OCLC, page 167
2. (figuratively) A (special) price guarantee for a sold-out item or temporarily unavailable service.
   • This means that if you go to the store for a half priced $25 turkey, but the turkeys are out, you can get a rain check. With the rain check, when those turkeys arrive again in a week or so, you will get half price, even if the sale is over.2010, Kristin Peoples, Don't Throw Those Coupons Away!, →ISBN, pages 17–18
3. (figuratively, uncommon) The promise to make good on any experience that the customer deems unsatisfactory.
   • [Regarding visiting the Indianapolis, Indiana, chapter of the fraternity Kappa Sigma] […] if in any respect the affair does not suit you—call at the box office and you’ll get your money back or get a rain check, just as you please.1896 January, Caduceus of Kappa Sigma, volume 11, number 1, Philadelphia, page 305
4. (broadly, figuratively) In social interactions, a deferred invitation, or deferred acceptance of an invitation.
   • I can't go with you to the museum this Saturday, but can I take a rain check and go some other day?