trust everybody, but cut the cards

Alternative forms

• trust everybody, but always cut the cards
• trust everybody, but cut the deck
• trust every man, but cut the cards
• trust your friends, but cut the cards

Etymology

Reportedly coined by Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936) and expressed in dialect by his character "Mr. Dooley" in Mr. Dooley's Philosophy (1900): "Thrust ivrybody—but cut th' ca-ards."

Proverb

trust everybody, but cut the cards

1. Have a general faith in the good intentions of others, but never neglect to take appropriate precautions against being deceived or cheated.
   • 1997, Donald L. Miller, City of the Century, →ISBN, p. 526 (Google preview):

     A deep-dyed fatalist, sentimental yet cynical—"Trust everybody," he is fond of saying, "but cut the cards"—his running history of his Chicago tribe is a struggle of clan and family survival, with little help from outsiders.

   • 2013, William C. Prentiss, One Man In His Time: A Memoir, →ISBN, p. 413 (Google preview):

     I was often reminded of Mr. Dooley's famous admonition to “Trust everybody, but cut the cards.” We did “cut the cards” by installing a fake camera high on one wall and pointed at the cash register.

   • 2014, Robert C. Chandler, Business and Corporate Integrity, →ISBN, p. xxiv (Google preview):

     It's a version of President Ronald Reagen's famous statements “trust but verify” and “trust everybody, but cut the cards.” We the public are tired of being duped, and we are now ready to hold companies responsible and accountable.