banker's dozen
- noun
- Informal
:
docena de trece
- The bakery offered a banker's dozen of muffins for the price of twelve.
Examples
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The promotion includes a banker's dozen of locally grown apples for the price of twelve.
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For their anniversary sale, the store offered every customer a banker's dozen of cookies.
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You often get a banker's dozen when buying items in bulk during holiday sales.
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Would you like a banker's dozen of cookies with your coffee?
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For their anniversary sale, the store offered every customer a banker's dozen of cookies.
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The promotion includes a banker's dozen of locally grown apples for the price of twelve.
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You often get a banker's dozen when buying items in bulk during holiday sales.
Synonyms
195
1.0
A number one more than twelve
4
3.0
A group of thirteen items, often one more than expected
A group of thirteen items, one more than the usual twelve
Surface Forms
Morphology
banker's + dozen
Knowing 'dozen' = twelve and 'banker' = a person who works in a bank does not allow a B1 learner to infer that the phrase means thirteen; the extra one is a conventional/idiomatic feature (by analogy with 'baker's dozen') rather than a predictable compositional meaning. Because the non-literal sense (thirteen) cannot be derived from the constituents, the expression is opaque to learners.
Etymology
Banker's dozen may come from the older idea of a baker's dozen, where a seller added one item to a dozen to be safe, so imagine a careful banker quietly giving an extra. So today banker's dozen means getting 'thirteen' items, a 'dozen' plus one, or a small 'extra' gift.