check is in the mail

phrase

A common excuse used by debtors to put off creditors.

“Your check is in the mail. I gave it to my son to mail yesterday. I hope he remembered.”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

phrase
  1. idiomaticironicoftenA common excuse used by debtors to put off creditors.

    Your check is in the mail. I gave it to my son to mail yesterday. I hope he remembered.

    3 more examples

    The reply was usually either a story about financial problems, or the "check is in the mail" dodge.

    1989, Ceramics Monthly, page 77

    It was the sure-fire sign of a business — or an individual — in financial distress: The old check-is-in-the-mail ploy.

    1992, Donald L. Barlett with James B. Steele, America: What Went Wrong?, page 155

    The person with whom you speak may be well schooled in the "check is in the mail" run-around.

    1997, Jeff Davidson, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Assertiveness, page 306
Cite this entry
APA

check is in the mail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/check%20is%20in%20the%20mail

MLA

“check is in the mail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/check%20is%20in%20the%20mail. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “check is in the mail,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/check%20is%20in%20the%20mail.

Source: check is in the mail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.