Baker's dozen
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Thirteen; a group of thirteen. idiomatic
"[L]et him caſt his Eye upon the laſt Page of that Book, where Mr. Blount has tranſlated a Quotation out of Scaliger de Emend. brought by the Author of the Præadamitæ; now he tranſlates Octingenties octagies, not eight hundred and eighty, but eight hundred and eightſcore; as if the Romans had uſed to reckon by ſcores. He might altogether as well, have made them number by Bakers-Dozens."
- 2 A solitaire card game, starting with 13 piles of 4 cards each. uncountable
- 3 the cardinal number that is the sum of twelve and one wordnet
- 4 A cousin. Cockney, slang
""Before I agree to help you and your baker's dozen over there …" Rose nodded at Larry. / "It means cousin," Larry said. / "Before I say yes to helping, I would like a low-risk, up-front agreement.""
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"[L]et him caſt his Eye upon the laſt Page of that Book, where Mr. Blount has tranſlated a Quotation out of Scaliger de Emend. brought by the Author of the Præadamitæ; now he tranſlates Octingenties octagies, not eight hundred and eighty, but eight hundred and eightſcore; as if the Romans had uſed to reckon by ſcores. He might altogether as well, have made them number by Bakers-Dozens."
Etymology
Possibly from the former practice of bakers adding a thirteenth loaf of bread to a batch of twelve loaves in order to avoid punishment for accidentally selling underweight bread.