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shoo-in

[shoo-in]
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noun Informal.
  1. a candidate, competitor, etc., regarded as certain to win.

Origin of shoo-in

1945–50, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase shoo in
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for shoo in

shoo-in

noun
  1. a person or thing that is certain to win or succeed
  2. a match or contest that is easy to win
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shoo in

shoo-in

n.

"easy winner" (especially in politics)," 1939, from earlier sense "horse that wins a race by pre-arrangement" (1928); the verb phrase shoo in in this sense is from 1908; from shoo (v.) + in (adv.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper