pick up the tab

To pay the bill for something, often at a bar or restaurant. Paul said he's picking up the tab tonight, so I'm definitely ordering another drink!

See also: pick, tab, up

pick up the tab

and pick up the check

to pay the bill. Whenever we go out, my father picks up the tab. Order whatever you want. The company is picking up the check.

See also: pick, tab, up

pick up the tab

COMMON If you pick up the tab, you pay for something, often something that you are not responsible for. Pollard picked up the tab for dinner. If your girlfriend is always picking up the tab, the inequality in your relationship may be difficult for you both to handle.

See also: pick, tab, up

pick up the tab

pay for something. informal, chiefly North American

See also: pick, tab, up

pick up the ˈtab (for something)

(informal) pay the bill, especially for a group of people in a restaurant, etc: Her father picked up the tab for all the champagne at the wedding.

See also: pick, tab, up

References in periodicals archive ?

The commission was belt-tightening and hoped that other providers would pick up the tab for the two services, which help tens of thousands of people annually with counseling, referrals and more.

White Bird Clinic survives short-lived funding crisis

They'd find a way to pick up the tab for those who didn't.

CLINIC'S NAMESAKE GIVES HOPE TO DEAF

Jerry Avorn, a professor at Harvard Medical School, says that salesmen often couch their dinner invitations in flattering terms like "Come on--you're a busy guy and you've gotta eat anyway; I'll just pick up the tab.

Drug Rush

He said part of Northwest's grand plan for bankruptcy includes eliminating current pension plans for all Northwest employees with no penalty, dumping the plans on the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation and potentially forcing taxpayers to pick up the tab.

AMFA Resolves to Strike after Northwest Proposes Even Harsher Terms in Final Offer; Delle-Femine Calls Negotiating Process 'An Arrogant Farce with a Predetermined Ending'; Northwest Began Strike Preparations A Year Before the Talks Started

I don't see why the city should pick up the tab if individual council members sue,'' Wachs said.

L.A. MAY COVER 218 SUIT; COUNCIL MEMBERS COULD BILL FOR CHALLENGES, OPINION SAYS

AMS will pick up the tab for pet sitting or kennel care if an owner has to travel unexpectedly - a 2-year-old policy that not only instills company loyalty but allows employees to focus more on work and less on domestic worries.

WORKPLACE GOING TO THE DOGS : MORE COMPANIES EXPLORING BENEFITS OF PET CARE PLANS