--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They had been double-crossed in the act…" description: "\"“They had been double-crossed in the act of double-crossing, which was probably what they should have expected from the start, especially knowing that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/michael-mcbride-74812_dead-man_they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act_1263623.jpg" --- # They had been double-crossed in the act of… ![“They had been double-crossed in the act of double-crossing, which was probably what they should have expected from the start, especially knowing that the dead man at their feet was an American.” quote by Michael McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/michael-mcbride-74812_dead-man_they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act_1263623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/michael-mcbride-74812_dead-man_they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act_1263623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/michael-mcbride-74812_dead-man_they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act_1263623.jpg) > ““They had been double-crossed in the act of double-crossing, which was probably what they should have expected from the start, especially knowing that the dead man at their feet was an American.”” Michael McBride ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Characters are betrayed twice, illustrating that treachery is expected in dangerous situations, especially with a dead American involved. **In simple terms:** Double‑crosses are expected in risky deals. Key Takeaway Expect betrayal in high‑risk contexts. Themes trust betrayal danger expectation Mood cautious tense Type narrative dramatic When to use this quote - crime syndicates - war zones - high‑stakes negotiations - political intrigue Key Concepts human nature risk assessment moral ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - Why do people anticipate betrayal in dangerous settings? - How does a dead American change the stakes? A Different Perspective Not all betrayals are predictable; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-man/) ## Related quotes > [“I realize now that some people did me a favor by double crossing me. Had the situation not turned out the way it did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/i-realize-now-that-some-people-did-me-a-favor-by-double-crossing-me/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [You dirty, double-crossing rat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cagney/you-dirty-double-crossing-rat/) [James Cagney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cagney/) > [The con movie is a little bit different where maybe we tell you what we're going to do but it never goes down the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-burns/the-con-movie-is-a-little-bit-different-where-maybe-we-tell-you-what/) [Edward Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-burns/) > [Why don’t I know You?” “Does anyone ever really know someone else?” “You think your cute,” she told him. “You think your gorgeous. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/why-don-t-i-know-you-does-anyone-ever-really-know-someone-else-you-2/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [She watched him stop to pat the mayor on the back. He stumbled a little in the crowd, and his left hand disappeared ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/she-watched-him-stop-to-pat-the-mayor-on-the-back-he-stumbled-a/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [When you worked with Vinod Khanna, you knew that you would never be double-crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeenat-aman/when-you-worked-with-vinod-khanna-you-knew-that-you-would-never-be/) [Zeenat Aman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeenat-aman/) > [When his phone rang, he had to dig through his pocket to find it, and his fingers brushed against a pair of tiny earbuds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/when-his-phone-rang-he-had-to-dig-through-his-pocket-to-find-it-and/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [A Frenchwoman, when double-crossed, will kill her rival; the Italian woman would rather kill her deceitful lover; the Englishwoman simply breaks off relations-but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-boyer/a-frenchwoman-when-double-crossed-will-kill-her-rival-the-italian/) Charles Boyer > [The real issue is not if a crossing is put in, but when. It would be negligent on the part of Union Pacific and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-smith/the-real-issue-is-not-if-a-crossing-is-put-in-but-when-it-would-be/) [Dean Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-smith/) > [My wife's brother has a little house on a small island in the Baltic Sea, and we go there at Christmas. The 30-minute crossing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-frost/my-wife-s-brother-has-a-little-house-on-a-small-island-in-the-baltic/) [Nick Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-frost/) > [Those crossing opportunities always come up in a game so you have to be prepared for them so you have to keep practising them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-wan-bissaka/those-crossing-opportunities-always-come-up-in-a-game-so-you-have-to/) [Aaron Wan-Bissaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-wan-bissaka/) > [“More data—such as paying attention to the eye colors of the people around when crossing the street—can make you miss the big truck.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/more-data-such-as-paying-attention-to-the-eye-colors-of-the-people/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I did this one movie with a great director named Wayne Kramer. It was 'Crossing Over,' and Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-chon/i-did-this-one-movie-with-a-great-director-named-wayne-kramer-it-was/) [Justin Chon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-chon/) > [“They were Catholic, my lovers, All in an access of crossing themselves, Particularly their fingers Behind their suspendered backs-- And that was the women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-caroline/they-were-catholic-my-lovers-all-in-an-access-of-crossing-themselves/) Shay Caroline > [Be bored and see where it takes you, because the imagination's dusty wilderness is worth crossing if you want to sculpt your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/be-bored-and-see-where-it-takes-you-because-the-imagination-s-dusty/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) ## More by Michael McBride > [“He'd been crazy about her for more years than he cared to admit. Unfortunately, he knew nothing would ever come of it, so he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcbride/he-d-been-crazy-about-her-for-more-years-than-he-cared-to-admit/) Michael McBride > [“It was only a matter of time before we started dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcbride/it-was-only-a-matter-of-time-before-we-started-dying/) Michael McBride Explore all 3 Michael McBride quotes ## More Crossing quotes > [Be bored and see where it takes you, because the imagination's dusty wilderness is worth crossing if you want to sculpt your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/be-bored-and-see-where-it-takes-you-because-the-imagination-s-dusty/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [“They were Catholic, my lovers, All in an access of crossing themselves, Particularly their fingers Behind their suspendered backs-- And that was the women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-caroline/they-were-catholic-my-lovers-all-in-an-access-of-crossing-themselves/) Shay Caroline > [I did this one movie with a great director named Wayne Kramer. It was 'Crossing Over,' and Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-chon/i-did-this-one-movie-with-a-great-director-named-wayne-kramer-it-was/) [Justin Chon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-chon/) > [“More data—such as paying attention to the eye colors of the people around when crossing the street—can make you miss the big truck.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/more-data-such-as-paying-attention-to-the-eye-colors-of-the-people/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Those crossing opportunities always come up in a game so you have to be prepared for them so you have to keep practising them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-wan-bissaka/those-crossing-opportunities-always-come-up-in-a-game-so-you-have-to/) [Aaron Wan-Bissaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-wan-bissaka/) > [My wife's brother has a little house on a small island in the Baltic Sea, and we go there at Christmas. The 30-minute crossing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-frost/my-wife-s-brother-has-a-little-house-on-a-small-island-in-the-baltic/) [Nick Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-frost/) > [The real issue is not if a crossing is put in, but when. It would be negligent on the part of Union Pacific and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-smith/the-real-issue-is-not-if-a-crossing-is-put-in-but-when-it-would-be/) [Dean Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-smith/) > [“Crossing the line, that's what the Highway Patrol woman said. Neely was on a gurney, his injuries deemed non-life-threatening, she was taking her initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendric-neal/crossing-the-line-that-s-what-the-highway-patrol-woman-said-neely-was/) [Kendric Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendric-neal/) > [“Crossing the small wooden bridge, just past the rubble, Gabe ducked off to the left and swooped underneath into hiding. Once sure he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-owens/crossing-the-small-wooden-bridge-just-past-the-rubble-gabe-ducked-off/) [Wendy Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-owens/) > [Lady crossing the street, not paying attention, almost got hit. Turns to husband & screams, 'Why didn't YOU watch where I was going?!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kal-penn/lady-crossing-the-street-not-paying-attention-almost-got-hit-turns-to/) [Kal Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kal-penn/) > [I love crossing borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-tokarczuk/i-love-crossing-borders/) [Olga Tokarczuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-tokarczuk/) > [Crossing the starting line may be an act of courage, but crossing the finish line is an act of faith. Faith is what kepes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/crossing-the-starting-line-may-be-an-act-of-courage-but-crossing-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you were growing up, your mom and dad told you to look both ways before crossing the street or not to get into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-dewolfe/when-you-were-growing-up-your-mom-and-dad-told-you-to-look-both-ways/) [Chris DeWolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-dewolfe/) > [“And he said... ...crossing your' 't' isn't as important as crossing your legs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-t-hincks/and-he-said-crossing-your-t-isn-t-as-important-as-crossing-your-legs/) [Anthony T. Hincks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-t-hincks/) > [“If you didn’t get a little wet crossing the river you might have crossed it, but you didn’t experience it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-you-didn-t-get-a-little-wet-crossing-the-river-you-might-have/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) Browse all 153 Crossing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They had been double-crossed in the act of double-crossing, which was probably what they should have expected from the start, especially knowing that the dead man at their feet was an American.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael McBride" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcbride/they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act-of-double-crossing-which-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crossing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcbride/they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act-of-double-crossing-which-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/michael-mcbride-74812_dead-man_they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act_1263623.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/michael-mcbride-74812_dead-man_they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act_1263623.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/michael-mcbride-74812_dead-man_they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act_1263623.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They had been double-crossed in the act of double-crossing, which was probably what they should have…” — Michael McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael McBride", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcbride/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“They had been double-crossed in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcbride/they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act-of-double-crossing-which-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcbride/they-had-been-double-crossed-in-the-act-of-double-crossing-which-was/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```