Dollars to doughnuts means something that is certain. The phrase dollars to doughnuts is an American idiom that originated in the middle 1800s and is still mostly seen in American English. The idea behind the shorthand phrase dollars to doughnuts is the sentiment that the speaker is so confident that he is right about something, he will put forth his dollars against the listener’s doughnuts in a wager, the dollars having much higher value than the doughnuts. The idiom dollars to doughnuts reached its peak in popularity in 1915 according to Google’s Ngram, its popularity has fallen off considerably since that time.
Examples
Dollars to doughnuts, it’s enough to give at least a few brave souls a serious case of indigestion. (The Citizen-Times)
And I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that he will have no strategic plan on how to effectively rebut Clinton’s speech. (The Washington Post)
When traditional command-and-control management encounters refusals to comply with basic directives, dollars to doughnuts conflict will soon follow. (Forbes Magazine)
“I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts there will be no problem with the water going in (to the house) and the problem will be restricted to one or two faucets, max,” Welte said. (The Stockton Record)
It’s dollars to doughnuts Cruden will be the All Black No 10. There is an opening on the wing with injuries to Milner-Skudder and Waisake Naholo (although the latter is now back on the field). (The New Zealand Herald)
“I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that it will be part of almost every administration’s discussion.” (The Leader Telegram)
“I would bet dollars to doughnuts it was built by a working-class family, the guy probably worked up at the gun factory; it looks like a homemade house, which I think is kind of cool, it’s kind of a tip of your hat to the history of Fall Creek,” McGonigal said. (Ithaca Journal)
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