The title is based on an old expression 'Pay the two dollars!' which is a reference to a Depression-era Willie Howard vaudeville sketch written by Billy K. Wells. A man is in court to pay a $2 fine for spitting on the subway, but his lawyer insists on fighting the case. As the lawyer incurs greater and greater sentences, his defendant keeps pleading, "Pay the two dollars!"
In this episode Alice takes a n8ght time singing engagement outside of Mel's Diner with no objection from Mel about "moonlighting." However in subsequent episodes Mel would not allow the waitresses to "moonlight."