double cross

¹ American  

noun

1. a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.

2. an attempt to win a contest that one has agreed beforehand to lose.

3. Genetics. a cross in which both parents are first-generation hybrids from single crosses, thus involving four inbred lines.

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double-cross ² American  

[duhb-uhl-kraws, -kros] / ˈdʌb əlˈkrɔs, -ˈkrɒs /

verb (used with object)

Informal.

1. to prove treacherous to; betray or swindle, as by a double cross.

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double-cross ¹ British  

verb

1. (tr) to cheat or betray

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noun

1. the act or an instance of double-crossing; betrayal

double cross ² British  

noun

1. a technique for producing hybrid stock, esp seed for cereal crops, by crossing the hybrids between two different pairs of inbred lines

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double cross Idioms  

1. 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]

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Other Word Forms

• double-crosser noun

Etymology

Origin of double cross¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Origin of double-cross²

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Then a double cross happens, and Rachel learns what some viewers might have suspected — that one of her colleagues is in cahoots with Keya!

From Salon

It’s all dangerous deals and double crosses, yet it whiffs on an opportunity for an actually interesting double cross that might have made us sit up and pay attention.

From Los Angeles Times

"You can choose to lie to a character, you can help them, you can gain their trust, you can double cross folks," said Ann Morrow Johnson, executive producer and creative director for Walt Disney Imagineering.

From Reuters

Still, the Jefferson dream lives on, in the form of flags — a gold pan and two Xs, a heavy-handed symbol of the double cross — that, during the pandemic, have adorned face masks.

From Los Angeles Times

“I thought they were actually interested in solving this case rather than doing a double cross and running to the house and arresting my client before we can even finish helping them.”

From Seattle Times