But don't keep all the change!

Question

What do you say if you want to tip a specific amount when paying in cash?

Say I've had a small meal for $8 and want to tip $2 on top of that. If I have a $10 bill, I'd say "keep the change" (By the way, should that be "keep the change, please"? Or "you can keep the change"?)

But what if I only have a $20 bill? Would I say "give me back $10, please"? That could quickly get tedious with larger amounts. Or something like "and a $2 tip"? "Two of those are for you"?

I'm sure I'd get the point across, but anything I can think of sounds convoluted or patronizing. When I hear "this is for you" I think of my grandmother giving me some money behind my parents' back...

Answer 1

What I often say, when paying with cash, is something like,

Just five dollars back, please.

It is usually obvious from context that the server or delivery person is supposed to keep the rest. This would get tiresome if you had to say something like "Just twenty-three dollars and thirty-seven cents back, please"! - but that's easily avoided by just rounding the tip up to the nearest amount that's easy to calculate and say, which seems to be what most of us do.

Answer 2

This answer is similar to the others, but I've said:

I only need ten back.

Or maybe:

Just the ten back is fine, thanks.

In the setting, the meaning is pretty obvious. I've never had anyone ask for clarification.

If your bill was, say, $7.88, and you didn't care who got the 12 cents, you could also use something like:

If I could get $10 back, that would be great. You can keep the rest.

Answer 3

The easy solution, and what I almost always do if I pay cash, is to accept the change, and then leave the tip on the table. That way you avoid any confusion or complexity.

In the past I have said, "take out $X". Like if the bill is $8 and I want to leave a $2 tip, I hand the waitress a twenty dollar bill and say "take out ten".

I've also said, "please give me back $X".