Word.ws English Dictionary

write checks one can't cash

write checks one can't cash verb: to make promises one cannot keep, or to make boasts that are not true.

Verb

write checks one can't cash (third-person singular simple present writes checks one can't cash, present participle writing checks one can't cash, simple past wrote checks one couldn't cash, past participle written checks one couldn't cash)

  1. (idiomatic, informal) To make promises one cannot keep, or to make boasts that are not true.
    • You're acting like a frat boy, which is fun and all, but you're writing checks you can't cash.2020, Michel Prince, Fourth and Goal
    • “I think your mouth might be writing checks you can't cash.”2022, Jennifer Brozek, Shadowrun: Elfin Black

Forms of write checks one can't cash

third-person singular presentwrites checks one can't cash
present participlewriting checks one can't cash
pastwrote checks one couldn't cash
past participlewritten checks one couldn't cash
alternative formwrite cheques one can't cash

Origin of write checks one can't cash

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.

Questions about write checks one can't cash

What does write checks one can't cash mean?
Write checks one can't cash means to make promises one cannot keep, or to make boasts that are not true.
What part of speech is write checks one can't cash?
Write checks one can't cash is a verb.
What is the past tense of write checks one can't cash?
The past tense of write checks one can't cash is wrote checks one couldn't cash.

Words near write checks one can't cash in the dictionary

  1. writation
  2. writative
  3. write
  4. write blocker
  5. write blockers
  6. write checks one can't cash
  7. write cheques one can't cash
  8. write down
  9. write for the drawer
  10. write head
  11. write heads

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: write checks one can't cash (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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