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I saw this -

enter image description here

I'm not convinced with the phrase 'bill presenter' (a person specially appointed to present a bill is also a 'bill presenter!'- just a tongue-in-cheek comment!) and looking for the better/proper term.

It's bigger than a normal wallet in my pocket but smaller than a menu.

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  • "check presenter" ~50 million results
    – Phil
    Commented May 14, 2014 at 6:13
  • @Phil Unfortunately, the whopping number of Google results don't fascinate me ;P
    – Maulik V
    Commented May 14, 2014 at 6:43
  • "a person specially appointed to present a bill is also a 'bill presenter!'" -yes, and a person especially appointed to write up type (imprinted text!) is also a 'typewriter'. The fact there never was (afaik) any confusion between a machine (typewriter) or a person (copywriter), seems to indicate that speakers of English adapt quite well to these kind of word formations :)
    – oerkelens
    Commented May 14, 2014 at 8:46
  • @oerkelens nope, it'd be then a 'typer' or 'writer'. And also, 'typewriter' is a single word ;) but good one! haha
    – Maulik V
    Commented May 14, 2014 at 9:00
  • @MaulikV I understand that. I was trying to show that there are other terms that also provide plenty of results. I'm happy to see that the revised answer has used more terms.
    – Phil
    Commented May 14, 2014 at 17:41

1 Answer 1

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I think it's first important to note for our ESL/EFL friends that one would practically never have a need to refer to one of these. (I personally don't ever recall hearing any name for this.) If one wants to ask for a bill in a restaurant, the answer is here: how should I ask for a bill in a restaurant politely.

This is the leather (or faux leather) folder that waiters/waitresses use to deliver the check/bill to the customer, who reviews the bill and encloses cash or a credit card back to the waiter. The following are terms used by several online restaurant supply distributors:1

  • Guest Check Presenter, Guest Check Holder
  • Check Presenter, Check Holder
  • Bill Presenter, Bill Holder
  • Check Presentation Cover
  • Bill Presentation Folder

Most people have never considered what this is called, but would likely use the following:

  • (bill | check) + (holder | folder) 2
  • So for example, if it was misplaced and separated from the bill, one might ask, "Where's the (black) bill holder?".
  • If it was misplaced with the bill, one may simply ask "Where's the bill?"
  • Another functional way people talk about something when their mind isn't focused is to describe it in terms of how it is used: "that black thing/thingy that the waiter brings with the bill in it."

Here are a few Google Results:

This is similar to they way I sometimes describe the TV remote control to my wife late at night: "Darling, do you know where the channel changer is?" (Evidently I'm not alone on this with Google "channel+changer" "remote+control" at 14K results.)

1. www.bigtray.com, www.usaequipmentdirect.com, www.centralrestaurant.com, www.zesco.com, www.foodservicewarehouse.com

2. AmE uses check or bill. BrE uses bill.

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  • billfold is wallet and not a bill presenter. thefreedictionary.com/billfold I said it's bigger than wallet and smaller than menu.
    – Maulik V
    Commented May 14, 2014 at 6:45
  • I've fixed the answer again, adding more detail.
    – CoolHandLouis
    Commented May 14, 2014 at 9:48
  • yup, it's better now ;) +1
    – Maulik V
    Commented May 14, 2014 at 9:56
  • Thanks, please note I made another change (added an intro paragraph) after you upvoted.
    – CoolHandLouis
    Commented May 14, 2014 at 10:01

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