surefire
[shoo r-fahyuh r, shur-]
- sure to work; foolproof: a surefire moneymaking scheme.
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Origin of surefire
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sure-fire
Contemporary Examples
After all, there is only one sure-fire message that I can send by putting a Coexist sticker on the back of my car.
The Founders had a sure-fire way to get out the vote: get out the booze.
A sure-fire draft pick turned into a 50-50 chance, and then a suspenseful wait through the final rounds of the NFL draft.
Crystal is always a sure-fire talk-show guest and he proved an ideal choice.
Implemented at a national scale, fiat pricing does not seem to be a sure-fire strategy for holding down cost growth.
Historical Examples
“The program pictures are sure-fire, I suppose,” the girl admitted.
Ruth Fielding on the St. LawrenceAlice B. Emerson
That mind of his is too sure-fire to hang on so desperately to a mere dream.
The Man Who Fell Through the EarthCarolyn Wells
"Sure-fire hit," Mr. Rooney pronounced, as he spat on the stage floor behind the curtain.
Blue-grass and BroadwayMaria Thompson Daviess
“No amateur screen actress—and that is all Wonota is as yet—is ever a ‘sure-fire hit’, as you call it,” said the practical Ruth.
Ruth Fielding on the St. LawrenceAlice B. Emerson
It's a sure-fire case against you, Larry—and it'll mean five to ten years if you're caught.
Children of the WhirlwindLeroy Scott
sure-fire
- (usually prenominal) informal certain to succeed or meet expectations; assured
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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 sure-fire
surefire
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper