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double-cross

verb

Etymology

First recorded in 1834 from thieves' slang cross (or on the cross) to refer to something dishonest, a play on straight or square: a crook going back on his partners would therefore be crossing the crossers, or double-crossing.

Definitions

  1. To betray or go back on

    To betray or go back on; to deceive someone after having gained their trust and led them to believe that they were being aided.

    • If you double-cross us, we'll track you down and kill you.
    • I've been double crossed / By a double dealin', double winnin' / Looks like I'm the one who lost.

  2. Of breeding, to cross twice in hybridization, as (A × B) × (C × D)

    Of breeding, to cross twice in hybridization, as (A × B) × (C × D); for example, in commercial hybrid seed corn, A through D are classically inbreds, and their grandoffspring is the seed for sale.

  3. An act or instance of deliberate betrayal or deceit, especially in which one party…

    An act or instance of deliberate betrayal or deceit, especially in which one party violates a prior agreement or trust with a collaborator.

  4. ›+ 1 more definition

    1. Of a breeding, the hybrid product of double-crossing.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for double-cross. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA