That spelling is only used when referring to a cheque as in the following : "I paid him the money by writing him a cheque" Whereas, in the term checks and balances, the word checks is referring to a way of checking that the branches of the government are doing their job. e.g. "The system has a series of built in checks and balances to ensure the government runs smoothly"
Anything that is Black & Brown can be called Black & Tan. Today it generally means a Beer and Guinness cocktail made by mixing half & half of each. Some dogs are also called Black & Tan purely by their colouring.
The origin of the phrase Black & Tan still arouses controversy in Ireland. The Black and Tans were mostly former soldiers brought into Ireland by the government in London after 1918 to assist the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in their work.Once in Ireland it quickly became apparent that there were not enough uniforms for all those who had joined up. Therefore they wore a mixture of uniforms – some military, some RIC. This mixture gave them the appearance of being in khaki and dark police uniform. As a result, these men got the nickname “Black and Tans”, and it stuck.
Unfortunately violence begets violence and many innocent civilians suffered for the killing of B&T members in retaliation.
As mentioned elsewhere, it's also a common color designation for certain dog breeds. Dobermans, rottweilers, dachsunds, and coonhounds come to mind, but there are many others.
Not sure which application popularized the term first.
It's not cheques -- the noun meaning "a promisory note reqpresenting money". It's checks -- the verb meaning "to examine something or slow the progress of something" (in this case, to examine the political power structure and slow the acquisition of absolute power and dictatorship).
Peaches & Herb are an American vocalist duo. Herb Fame (born October 1, 1942) has remained a constant as "Herb" since the duo was created in 1966; seven different women have filled the role of "Peaches", most notably Francine "Peaches" Hurd Barker (April 28, 1947 – August 13, 2005), the original "Peaches" who lent her nickname to the duo, and Linda Greene, the third "Peaches" who appeared on the duo's biggest hits "Shake Your Groove Thing" (1978) and "Reunited" (1979).
The origin of the phrase Black & Tan still arouses controversy in Ireland. The Black and Tans were mostly former soldiers brought into Ireland by the government in London after 1918 to assist the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in their work.Once in Ireland it quickly became apparent that there were not enough uniforms for all those who had joined up. Therefore they wore a mixture of uniforms – some military, some RIC. This mixture gave them the appearance of being in khaki and dark police uniform. As a result, these men got the nickname “Black and Tans”, and it stuck.
Unfortunately violence begets violence and many innocent civilians suffered for the killing of B&T members in retaliation.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/ireland-1845-to-1922/the-black-and-tans/
Not sure which application popularized the term first.