what does" the till" mean in text below? it is from a part of play, setting is in a burgur bar. does it mean " A cash register" or something?
(Ben is about to dial when Danny raises the bat and brings it down on the phone. A few frenzied blows and it's on the floor in pieces.) Danny: I'll fuckin' show you what it's about... fuckin' playing with me... fuckin' call the cops... ( He brings the bat down on the till. it rings madly.) Call them!
Till in this context means a drawer or a small chest. Till has several meaning and one of those is "A drawer, small chest, or compartment for money, as in a store." Thefreedictionary.com provides 4 different definitions of till:
Till 1: To prepare (land) for the raising of crops, as by plowing and harrowing; cultivate.
Till 2: Until
Till 3: 1. A drawer, small chest, or compartment for money, as in a store. A supply of money; a purse.
till 4: Glacial drift composed of an unconsolidated, heterogeneous mixture of clay, sand, pebbles, cobbles, and boulders.
Usage Note: Till and until are generally interchangeable in both writing and speech, though as the first word in a sentence until is usually preferred: Until you get that paper written, don't even think about going to the movies. Till is actually the older word, with until having been formed by the addition to it of the prefix un-, meaning "up to." In the 1700s, the spelling 'till became fashionable, as if till were a shortened form of until. Although 'till is now nonstandard, 'til is sometimes used in this way and is considered acceptable, though it is etymologically incorrect.
