cross my heart (and hope to die)

A vow that one is being truthful. Billy's the one who broke the cookie jar—cross my heart and hope to die! A: "Did you take that money?" B: "No, cross my heart!" No, I didn't tattle on you to the teacher—cross my heart and hope to die!

cross my heart

cross my heart and hope to die

SPOKEN

You can say cross my heart or cross my heart and hope to die when you want to assure someone that you are telling the truth. Note: The heart is traditionally regarded as the centre of the emotions. And I won't tell any of the other girls about it. I promise, cross my heart. Sam grinned and held out his hand toward her. `You don't have to worry, okay.' — `Are you sure?' Erin asked. — `Cross my heart and hope to die.' Note: This expression is used mainly by children. Note: This expression refers to the Christian practice of moving your hand across your chest in the shape of a cross.

cross my heart

used to emphasize the truthfulness and sincerity of what you are saying or promising. informal

The full version of this expression is cross my heart and hope to die , and is sometimes reinforced by making a sign of the Cross over your chest.

cross my ˈheart (and hope to ˈdie)

(spoken) used for emphasizing that you are sincere when making a promise, or that what you say is true: ‘Don’t tell anyone else about this, will you?’ ‘Cross my heart, I won’t.’