Editor's Corner

Good morning, folks!

Today I have a short lesson on the idiomatic phrase, “foot the bill.” I covered it a few years ago, but I’ve been asked about it again, so here it goes!

From The Grammarist:

The phrase foot the bill means to cover the cost or pay the expenses of something…. It simply means that you’re taking on the responsibility of settling the bill, usually for a group. It’s like going out for dinner with a group of friends, and you pay for everything. That means you’re footing the bill.

This phrase comes from the 1800s with the old bookkeeping practice where the total of an account was written at the “foot,” or the bottom of the page. The person who footed, or added up the total, was often the one responsible for paying the bill. Years later, we’ve kept the term but lost the ledger!

Okay, that’s pretty simple, but I’ll provide you with a little bit more information. Here are some examples:

• The Nature Conservancy footed the bill for all of the animals rescued during the canyon cleanup.
• My uncle footed the bill for the whole family to go to the Acropolis museum and have lunch.
• The company agreed to foot the bill for the summer barbecue by the bay.

A couple of other ways you might hear this phrased are “cover the cost” and “pick up the tab.”

Stay cool out there!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | KE – Documentation

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/