Hi
The phrase “fold on a debt” sounds like giving up on a debt/abandoning a debt. I’m not sure. I look forward to your feedback.
I don’t know that that’s a term?
Thanks Captain Amazing. That’s what I thought.
Well, where did you hear it?
I just did a google; I saw a reference to a gambler’s hand: Hold em/fold em.
Thank you, Kenny Rogers*
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- how many people can milk a single song for that many years? While being paid THAT much for doing it.
I would be inclinded to interpret it as declaring bankruptcy in the face of a debt.
Not that this is a phrase I have heard before, but would make sense to me like that if anyone was to say it.
I have heard the phrase before. It just means walking away from a debt and not paying it. Businesses sometimes “fold” too (close abruptly while leaving unpaid creditors behind).
There isn’t anything mysterious about the phrase. It is one of the official menaings of the word “fold”:
7
a : to concede defeat by withdrawing (one’s cards) from play (as in poker)
b : to bring to an end
Always thought the phrase was “fold on a bet.” Seems to make more sense, especially in the card game allusion.
I agree with this. If you only heard the phrase, then It’s most likely you heard “bet” as “debt.” Easy enough to do. If you read it instead, then the writer may have had similar issues. If the writer was an authority on indebtedness, then it would be worth checking further for explanations. But I’m betting ( 
) on the “bet” interpretation.
Thanks Shagnasty. I heard someone use it recently and was’t sure if it was proper usage. I have never seen it in writing.
Google shows this thread as the only written example in the entire world.
As I tell my English students, even natives make mistakes.
or maybe
Yes, that contains some legitimate examples and is the way I have heard it used as well. It isn’t a common usage but it should be easy to figure out in context because the construction makes sense for some definitions of ‘fold’.