# write checks one can't cash

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/write-checks-one-cant-cash
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To make promises one cannot keep, or to make boasts that are not true.

## Examples

- Don't write checks you can't cash with your boss.
- The candidate promised to lower taxes, but he is writing checks he cannot cash.
- You are writing checks you can't cash by telling your friends you will pay for the entire vacation when you haven't even saved enough for the flight.
- By committing to a project timeline that was clearly impossible, the manager was writing checks he could not cash, eventually losing the trust of his entire team.

## Origin

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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.