English
Alternative forms
Verb
bet a dollar to a doughnut
- (figuratively, mildly humorous) To declare with confidence.
- 1911, Peter B. Kyne, Captain Scraggs, ch. 19:
- I bet a dollar to a doughnut that fellow Lopez sold us out.
- 1988 April 25, John F. Burns, "Canada Losing Patience With U.S. on Acid Rain," New York Times (retrieved 25 April 2015):
- [S]aying that environmental concerns are a major factor . . . Mr. Mulroney said "you can bet a dollar to a doughnut" that acid rain would feature in the campaign.
- 2010 Sep. 13, Red Shannon, "The Greatest Athlete Who Never Was," Bleacher Report (retrieved 25 April 2015):
- I'll bet a dollar to a doughnut Usain Bolt is not the fastest human on the planet.
Usage notes
- Becoming dated in places where the price of a doughnut now approaches or exceeds one dollar.
Synonyms
References
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↑ Listening to America, Stuart Berg Flexner (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1982).