double cross

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged

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
dou·ble-cross·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To double cross
00:10
Double cross is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
double cross
 
—n
a technique for producing hybrid stock, esp seed for cereal crops, by crossing the hybrids between two different pairs of inbred lines

double-cross
 
—vb
1.  (tr) to cheat or betray
 
—n
2.  the act or an instance of double-crossing; betrayal
 
'double-'crosser
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

double cross definition


  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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American Heritage
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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Example sentences
She manages to escape and decides to double cross her gang and sell the chips for herself.
In time, each participant's lust, greed and craving for raw power drives him to double cross and backstab his fellow perpetrators.
But don't double cross him or he will roll up the sleeves of his white silk shirt and get right after you.
There is a ton about loyalty and work and betrayal and cross and double cross.
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