double cross

double cross

1. noun An act of duplicitous betrayal or swindling, especially of a friend, ally, or colleague. Originally a sporting term in which a "cross" referred to an event that had been fixed by the participants to fail; a "double cross" happened when one participant secretly backed out of that arrangement and went on to win the event. Double crosses happen all the time in politics, with politicians making promises to each other behind closed doors and reneging upon them down the road. Jonathan's double cross ended up costing our company millions of dollars of wasted research and development.
2. verb To betray or cheat someone in a duplicitous manner, especially by going back on a previously agreed upon arrangement. We've been double-crossed, fellas, so keep your eyes open for the cops. John and I spent years developing the product together, but he double-crossed me once it was finished and got a patent for it under his name alone.
See also: cross, double
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

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]
See also: cross, double
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

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.
See also: cross, double
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • junk
  • Junk it!
  • angle
  • angling
  • juice
  • juiced
  • belt
  • belted
  • belting
References in periodicals archive
Macintyre does not ignore the risks involved in Operation Fortitude-, indeed, he highlights them because they give Double Cross its narrative tension.
Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies
The Double Cross system flourished as MI5 systematically penetrated the Abwehr's operations.
Mr Mills' Circus: Phil Chamberlain explains a Second World War plan to silence German double agents in the event of a German invasion of Britain
Numerous researchers have reported that the genotype x environmental variance for double crosses is less than for single crosses (Sprague and Federer, 1951; Eberhart and Russell, 1969; Weatherspoon, 1970), although this observation has not been documented for more recently developed elite hybrids.
Best types of maize hybrids for the western High Plains of the USA
Juval Aviv is not the only participant in The Maltese Double Cross to have been charged with wrongdoing in the United States.
Who did the deed?
But back to our 'double cross' story, it seemed that PGA actually had to part ways with the UK broker, because its aviation experts here and in London left the broker.
Double cross my heart
The book looks at how the double cross system went on to have resounding successes particularly during the D-Day Normandy landings in 1944 and in misdirecting the Nazi V1 and V2 rockets.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES; How Agent Snow sent shivers up Hitler's war effort
The writer later used Churchill's definition of the British secret service as a job involving "tangle within tangle, plot and counter plot, ruse and treachery, cross and double cross", on the inner dust jacket of the 1954 novel.
Bond's 00-ode to Winston
He asks us to believe that the Countess of Wessex was the subject of a double cross which was made possible because interest in the story was promoted by spin doctors in Downing Street.
Come, come Mr Hastilow
Here, in Double Cross, 1990, a white-painted globe with two rose wreaths, Hammons evoked the imperialism of Christianity, just as African Stand, 1991, five African masks lying on a scale and on the floor, pointed to the dangers of selling out black culture; it was impossible, however, not to note the irony of Hammons' making such a critique given the market-bound presentation of his own art.
David Hammons
However, he said it could be a case of double cross.
One of Zambo's most wanted men dead in attack
18 ( ANI ): Robert Pattinson has apparently given away the reason behind his split with cheating girlfriend Kristen Stewart, asserting that he doesn't tolerate people who double cross him.
R-Patz hints at why he broke-up with K-Stew
The opener will feature games, including the Time Tunnel hoops which will send contestants flying, and, if they survive, going on to face the Double Cross - a spinning gangway with lethal sweeper arms.
Making a splash; We love The Big SATURDAY
Mel is a hood shot and left for dead by his old partner and ex-girlfriend in a heist double cross and he embarks on a bloody mission of revenge, finally facing mob boss Kris Kristofferson.
FILMS OF THE DAY
In A Pure Double Cross (Blue Steel Press, 978-0-9743199-1-9), even tough guy Hal Schroeder's landlady is tough.
A Pure Double Cross
She will be introducing Double Cross, the fourth book in her Noughts & Crosses sequence.
Laureate launches festival