1.
tab; running account; deferred payment
An arrangement to record purchases and settle the total later rather than paying each time; by extension, the negative consequences of past actions that eventually come due.
Usually written in katakana as ツケ (also 付け). Refers to buying now and paying later on a running account, a practice once common at neighborhood bars and shops.
Common collocations
- ツケで買う: to buy on credit / on a tab
- ツケがたまる: for an unpaid tab to build up
- ツケを払う: to settle the tab
- ツケが回ってくる: for past excesses to catch up with one
Usage
The figurative sense — the 代償 (price) of earlier carelessness coming due — is very common, especially in ツケが回ってくる.
Related Words
Compare:
飲み代 (drinking expenses)