be dollars to doughnuts that (something happens)

To be assured or certain to happen. The idea is that one is so confident in a particular outcome that they would bet money against something less valuable. It's dollars to donuts that Kevin will be late tonight—he's never on time. I lost my umbrella, so it's dollars to doughnuts that it will rain tomorrow! Well, we know the rest of the family has already gotten to town, so if Mom's calling you repeatedly, it's dollars to doughnuts that they're making her miserable.

bet you dollars to doughnuts

I assure you (that something will happen, with so much confidence that I would bet money against something less valuable). I lost my umbrella, so I bet you dollars to doughnuts that it rains tomorrow! Oh, I bet you dollars to doughnuts that Kevin will be late tonight—he's never on time! Well, we know the rest of the family has gotten to town, so if Mom's calling you repeatedly, I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts they're making her miserable.

blow (one's) donuts

slang To vomit, especially very suddenly or profusely. I got so seasick out on that boat. I felt like I was going to blow my donuts at any second! The rookie saw blood for the first time and blew his donuts right there at the crime scene. After such a turbulent plane ride, we all felt like we were going to blow our donuts.

dollars to doughnuts

I assure you (that something will happen, with so much confidence that I would bet money against something less valuable). I lost my umbrella. Dollars to donuts it rains tomorrow! Dollars to donuts that Kevin will be late tonight—he's never on time. Well, we know the rest of the family has already gotten to town, so if Mom's calling you repeatedly, dollars to doughnuts she's already miserable.

See also: dollar, doughnut, to

lose (one's) doughnuts

slang To vomit suddenly and profusely. I got so seasick out on that boat, I felt like I was going to lose my doughnuts at any second. The rookie saw blood for the first time and lose his doughnuts right there at the crime scene.

time to make the donuts

cliché An exhortation to focus on doing one's work, especially with pep and vigor. Originally a catch phrase for the character Fred the Baker, featured in advertisements for Dunkin' Donuts in the 1980s and '90s. Primarily heard in US. Ah, 6 AM on a Monday morning with a fresh cup of coffee in my hand. Time to make the donuts!

dollars to doughnuts

AMERICAN

If you say that it is dollars to doughnuts that something will happen, you mean that you are certain it will happen. Note: `Doughnuts' is sometimes spelled `donuts' in this expression. It's dollars to doughnuts that the bank of the future will charge more for its services. Well, I'll bet you, Alex, almost dollars to donuts that I'll wake up at 3am, as I do every morning now.

See also: dollar, doughnut, to

dollars to doughnuts

Absolutely, certainly. This expression is most often preceded by the verb “to bet” and indeed comes from wagering. If someone is willing to bet dollars against doughnuts, he or she is absolutely sure of winning, the pastries being considered worthless compared to hard cash. The term began to be employed in the late 1800s. F. W. Bronson used it in Nice People Don’t Kill (1940), “You can bet a dollar to a doughnut.” Alliteration no doubt helped it to survive.

See also: dollar, doughnut, to

dollars to doughnuts

Stakes for a bet on a certain outcome. In the days when a dollar was worth more than it is now and a doughnut cost considerably less, someone who was reasonably sure that an event would happen might preface his comment with “Dollars to doughnuts . . .” as in “Dollars to doughnuts, it'll rain before nightfall.”

See also: dollar, doughnut, to

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