rubber check


noun

a check drawn on an account lacking the funds to pay it; a check that bounces.

Origin of rubber check

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

Idioms and Phrases with rubber check

rubber check

A check drawn on an account without the funds to pay it, as in He's been handing out rubber checks right and left, but the police have caught up with him. The rubber alludes to the fact that, like rubber, the check “bounces,” in this case back from the bank. [Slang; c. 1920]