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sure as shooting

Idioms  
  1. Most certainly, as in It's going to snow tonight, sure as shooting, or That grizzly is sure as shooting going to make dinner out of us. This idiom has replaced the older sure as a gun, dating from the mid-1600s, a time when guns fired with far less certainty. [Second half of 1800s]


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

All sweeping statements should be qualified or trouble will ensue, sure as shooting.

From Time Magazine Archive

But sure as shooting, this was the other person the Preacher said we were gonna have to go see.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

And you sure as shooting don’t need an outhouse if you don’t have folks living nearby.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

If he did he'd have named us, sure as shooting.

From Left Guard Gilbert by Edward C. Caswell

They have but one man on guard, and sure as shooting he is leaning against a tree, sound asleep.

From The Courier of the Ozarks by Byron A. (Byron Archibald) Dunn

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