Double cross

Origin of: Double cross

Double cross

Used either as a verb or noun and now means to betray or a betrayal. From the early 19th century, a cross was slang for a pre-arranged swindle in sports gambling, and a double cross meant reneging on the first, pre-arranged outcome, double being used here in the sense of duplicity. It began to be used outside of sporting contexts from the late 19th century.