bet a dollar to a doughnut

English

Alternative forms

bet a dollar to a donut
wager a dollar to a doughnut
bet dollars to doughnuts

Etymology

Possibly adapted from "bet dollars to buttons" and "bet dollars to dumplings" that appeared in the 1880s, meaning "to feel almost certain" because the dollars are bet against something nearly worthless and perhaps shaped like a zero.[1]

Verb

bet a dollar to a doughnut (third-person singular simple present bets a dollar to a doughnut, present participle betting a dollar to a doughnut, simple past and past participle bet a dollar to a doughnut)

(figuratively, mildly humorous) To declare with confidence.
- 1911, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 19, in Captain Scraggs:
  I bet a dollar to a doughnut that fellow Lopez sold us out.
- 1917, Walter Alleyne Ireland, Beating 'em to it: Or, The Sultan and the Sausages:
  There's places where a dago-dazzler doesn't cut much ice, but it was dollars to doughnuts that the Sultan'd have a kindly feeling for it when I had Mungo explain that it was from the President of the U. S. A., telling him to treat his Uncle Phineas good and white, and he'd do the same by him some day.
- 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 119:
  ‘Even if Kong follows, he has to travel overland, and it’s dollars to doughnuts we beat him.’
- 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

a pound to a penny
bet a dollar to a dime
bet one's boots
bet one's bottom dollar
bet the farm
take to the bank

References

Listening to America, Stuart Berg Flexner (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1982).

[1] Listening to America, Stuart Berg Flexner (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1982).

单词	bet a dollar to a doughnut
释义	bet a dollar to a doughnut English Alternative forms bet a dollar to a donut wager a dollar to a doughnut bet dollars to doughnuts Etymology Possibly adapted from "bet dollars to buttons" and "bet dollars to dumplings" that appeared in the 1880s, meaning "to feel almost certain" because the dollars are bet against something nearly worthless and perhaps shaped like a zero.[1] Verb bet a dollar to a doughnut (third-person singular simple present bets a dollar to a doughnut, present participle betting a dollar to a doughnut, simple past and past participle bet a dollar to a doughnut) (figuratively, mildly humorous) To declare with confidence. 1911, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 19, in Captain Scraggs: I bet a dollar to a doughnut that fellow Lopez sold us out. 1917, Walter Alleyne Ireland, Beating 'em to it: Or, The Sultan and the Sausages: There's places where a dago-dazzler doesn't cut much ice, but it was dollars to doughnuts that the Sultan'd have a kindly feeling for it when I had Mungo explain that it was from the President of the U. S. A., telling him to treat his Uncle Phineas good and white, and he'd do the same by him some day. 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 119: ‘Even if Kong follows, he has to travel overland, and it’s dollars to doughnuts we beat him.’ 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 a pound to a penny bet a dollar to a dime bet one's boots bet one's bottom dollar bet the farm take to the bank References Listening to America, Stuart Berg Flexner (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1982).
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