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double cross

 - 6 dictionary results

double cross

 
Use double cross in a Sentence
–noun
1. a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.
2. an attempt to win a contest that one has agreed beforehand to lose. Compare cross (def. 21).
3. Genetics. a cross in which both parents are first-generation hybrids from single crosses, thus involving four inbred lines.
Origin:
1825–35

dou⋅ble-cross

  [duhb-uhl-kraws, -kros]
–verb (used with object) Informal.
to prove treacherous to; betray or swindle, as by a double cross.
Origin:
1900–05

Related forms:
double-crosser, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To double cross
dou·ble-cross   (dŭb'əl-krôs', -krŏs')
tr.v.   dou·ble-crossed, dou·ble-cross·ing, dou·ble-cross·es
To betray by acting in contradiction to a prior agreement. See Synonyms at deceive.
n.  

  1. often double cross An act of betraying an ally, a friend, or an associate.

  2. double cross Genetics A cross in which each parent is the product of a single cross. It can be represented as AB × CD, where A, B, C, and D are inbred lines.

dou'ble-cross'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
double cross

  1. tv.
    to betray someone. (Originally a more complicated switching of sides in a conspiracy wherein the double-crosser sides with the victim of the conspiracy—against the original conspirator.) : Don't even think about double crossing me!
  2. n.
    a betrayal. (See comments with sense 1.) : It's one double cross Frank is sorry about.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

double-cross 
1834, from double + cross in the sense of "pre-arranged swindle or fix." Originally to win a race after promising to lose it.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

double cross

A deliberate betrayal; violation of a promise or obligation, as in They had planned a double cross, intending to keep all of the money for themselves. This usage broadens the term's earlier sense in sports gambling, where it alluded to the duplicity of a contestant who breaks his word after illicitly promising to lose. Both usages gave rise to the verb double-cross. [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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