Apedia

Cuff Pay Cosmo Bill Asked Owner Put Credit

Idiom On the Cuff
Example Cosmo couldn't pay his bill, so he asked the owner to put it on the cuff.
Meaning on credit; to be paid later
Origin This expression probably came from the days when bartenders in old saloons wore stiff cuffs that detached from the end of their shirt sleeves. When customers wanted to pay for their drinks at a later date, the bartender often wrote the charges down on his cuffs. There is another, similar idiom, "off the cuff," that has a totally different meaning: to speak about or do something freely without thinking about it first.

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