Lead-pipe cinch
[led-pahyp] /ˈlɛdˌpaɪp/
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.
noun phrase
[1898+; fr the fact that a lead pipe can be easily bent, in case one has bet on such a feat]
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 ]
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