Origin of word "tip"

[fanjolina]

I've just read that the word tip (in relation to restaurants etc) is an acronym, and these were initially payments used "To Insure Promptness"

But shouldn't it be Ensure?

No, insure is right. It means that if your meal is slow arriving you get your money back

Apparently ensure/insure interchangeable according to online dictionaries

Really? Well my old English teacher wasn't aware of that!

Hmm. Tip is a very old word: how likely is it that ye olde waiters were that literate that they invented acronyms?
snopes

hee hee - just looked up 'golf' on snopes as well - I like the bit about halfway down about the hilariously pedantic and priggish spelling of the word - thought it was peculiarly appropriate for this thread!

So have Twining's Tea Museum faked up a box saying "T.I.P"?? travel.uk.msn.com/inspiration/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=147721281&imageindex=16

Or maybe it stood for Tea Is Piss

bollocks: travel.uk.msn.com/inspiration/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=147721281&imageindex=16

I always had this one down as acronym myth along with golf and posh.