lead-pipen.
/ˈlɛdpʌɪp/, U.S. /ˈlɛdˌpaɪp/ Used attributively with cinch to denote a complete certainty. U.S. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > certain prospect or possession > [noun] > something easily done or acquired
sure card?1562
sure thing1836
open-and-shut1841
cinch1888
cert1889
snipa1890
pinch1897
lead-pipe1898
sitter1898
stone ginger1936
slam dunk1984
1898 ‘J. Kerr’ Cheery Bk. 71 I never had a ‘lead pipe cinch’; I never had a ‘pull’; I never had a ‘straight’ that was not beaten by a ‘full’.
1904 W. H. Smith Promoters v. 102 He was one of the lead-pipe-cinch kind,..and what he once buckled to he never let get away from him.
1911 H. Quick Yellowstone Nights xi. 288 Oh its a cinch, a timelock, leadpipe cinch!
1926 Punch 7 July 17/1 The Office of Works does not borrow money even to back what Americans call a lead~pipe cinch.
1949 N. Algren Man with Golden Arm 23 Not early enough to move no tables, that's a lead-pipe cinch.
1973 N.Y. Times 25 Feb. iv. 2/6 To be sure, speculation in gold is not a lead-pipe cinch; its price can go down as well as up.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1898