lead-pipe cinch

[ led-pahyp ]

noun

, Slang.

1. an absolute certainty:

   It's a lead-pipe cinch they'll be there.

2. something very easy to accomplish:

   Getting him elected will be a lead-pipe cinch.

Word History and Origins

Origin of lead-pipe cinch¹

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Idioms and Phrases

A certainty, an assured success. For example, “An engagement ain't always a lead-pipe cinch” (O. Henry, The Sphinx Apple , 1907). This colloquial expression is of disputed origin. It may allude to the cinch that tightly holds a horse's saddle in place, which can make it easier for the rider to succeed in a race; or it may allude to a cinch in plumbing, in which a lead pipe is fastened with a band of steel to another pipe or a fixture, making a very secure joint. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Well, maybe he's hot, and talks like the proprietor, and forgets that an engagement ain't always a lead-pipe cinch.

From Project Gutenberg

And if you also know what he plans to do when he gets where he's going, you've got an absolute lead-pipe cinch to work with.

From Project Gutenberg

I saw Boston's betting man havin' an old-time play, an' I knew it was a lead-pipe cinch.

From Project Gutenberg

He owes me a good bit, that same Johnny; his people thought him a lead-pipe cinch, and I went down the line on him to my sorrow.

From Project Gutenberg

It's a lead-pipe cinch that this is about the most mysterious thing that ever gave a whole layout brain storm.

From Project Gutenberg