double-cross

See also: doublecross

English

Etymology

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

Verb

double-cross (third-person singular simple present double-crosses, present participle double-crossing, simple past and past participle double-crossed)

1. 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.

2. (plant breeding, animal 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.

Derived terms

• double-crosser

Translations

to betray or go back on

• Bulgarian: измамвам (bg) (izmamvam), предавам (bg) (predavam), играя двойна игра
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 背叛 (zh) (bèipàn), 出賣 / 出卖 (zh) (chūmài)

• German: hintergehen (de), aufs Kreuz legen, ein Doppelspiel treiben mit
• Greek: προδίδω (el) (prodído)
• Russian: обвести́ вокру́г пальца́ (ru) (obvestí vokrúg palʹcá), преда́ть (ru) (predátʹ)

Noun

double-cross (plural double-crosses)

1. An instance of betrayal of one who had been led to believe that the betrayer was assisting them.
2. (plant breeding, animal breeding) The hybrid product of double-crossing.

References

• Michael Quinion (2004) “Double-cross”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.