Certainty
bet one’s boots To be absolutely sure or certain of something. The reference is to a gambler (perhaps a cowboy, whose boots are among his most important possessions) so sure of winning that he will bet everything he owns, including his boots. The phrase appeared in 1856 in Spirit of Times. Similar expressions are bet one’s life and bet one’s bottom dollar.
dead to rights Indisputably, unquestionably; positively, assuredly; usually in the phrases have someone dead to rights or caught dead to rights, in which it is equivalent to ‘in the act, red-handed’ Attempts to explain the origin of this American colloquial expression are frustrating and futile. Dead appears to be used in its meaning of ‘absolutely, utterly’; but the equivalent British expression bang to rights suggests something closer to ‘directly, precisely.’ The context of wrongdoing in which the phrase always appears in early citations indicates that to rights may relate to the rights of the guilty party, but the theory does not withstand careful analysis. The OED suggests a connection between the to rights of the phrase and the obsolete to rights ‘in a proper manner,’ but no citations contain analogous syntactic constructions. Despite its refusal to yield an elucidating explanation, dead to rights has been a commonly used expression since the mid-1800s.
dollars to doughnuts A sure thing, a certainty; usually in the phrase bet you dollars to doughnuts, in use since 1890. Although the precise origin of this expression is unknown, it obviously plays on the value of a dollar contrasted with the relative small worth of a doughnut, which once cost 5￠. Anyone willing to wager dollars to doughnuts is confident of winning his bet. One use of the expression apparently referred to the declining value of the dollar:
Dollars to doughnuts is a pretty even bet today. (Redbook, 1947)
eat one’s hat To admit willingness to “eat one’s hat” is to express certainty and confidence, and to be ready to abase one-self should things not turn out as one had anticipated. Should such cocksureness prove ill-founded, “eating one’s hat” would be analogous to “eating crow” or “eating one’s words.” The first use of this expression is attributed to Charles Dickens in The Pickwick Papers (1837).
If I knew as little of life as that, I’d eat my hat and swallow the buckle whole.
Of British origin, eat one’s hat is currently popular in the United States as well.
eggs is eggs Surely, definitely, absolutely, without a doubt. Usually used as an interjection or in the phrase sure as eggs is eggs, this British colloquialism is probably a humorous twist or an ignorant mispronunciation of “X” in the familiar algebraic equation, “X is X.”
[After examining me] the doctor shook his head and said, “Eggs is eggs.” (Johnny Carson, on The Tonight Show, NBC Television, 1978)
far and away Absolutely, incomparably, easily, undoubtedly; by far. Used to increase the intensity of a superlative adjective, this expression implies that there are no competitors or contenders within reach of this description.
You are far and away the greatest scoundrel I ever saw. (William E. Norris, Thirlby Hall, 1883)
in spades Definitely, emphatically, to the utmost degree; without restraint or qualification; no ifs, ands, or buts. This expression connoting extremeness derives from the fact that spades are the highest suit in some card games. In spades is used as an intensifier, as in the following citation from Webster’s Third:
[I] have thought him a stinker, in spades, for many years (Inez Robb)
in the bag Assured, certain. The most plausible and frequent explanation holds that the reference is to game which has been killed and bagged, i.e., put in the gamebag. One source claims a cockfighting origin for the term; since a live gamecock is literally brought to the pits in a bag, for the owner confident of victory, “It’s in the bag.”
lead-pipe cinch An absolute certainty; a certain success; something that is easily accomplished; a piece of cake. In this expression, cinch refers to a saddle girth, the beltlike strap used to secure the saddle on a horse. If the cinch were tight enough, the rider did not have to worry about the saddle’s slipping; in fact, it was a certainty that the saddle would stay in place. Although the rationale for the inclusion of “leadpipe” in this expression is unclear, it is possible that the relative ease with which lead for (waste) plumbing could be worked (compared with cast iron) gave rise to lead-pipe as an intensifier.
It is a double-barrelled lead-pipe cinch that you’ll be more anxious to get it back than you ever were about a $10 loan overdue. (Outing, July, 1921)
on ice See ABEYANCE.
shoo-in A candidate, athlete, team, or other competitor considered to be a sure winner; the favorite. This expression employs the verb phrase to shoo-in ‘to cause to go into’ as a noun.
In the [Republican presidential] preferential poll, Taft looked like a shoo-in over Stassen. (AP wire story, May 13, 1952)
sure as shooting Certainly without a doubt, most assuredly. This colloquialism of American origin appeared in print by the mid-1800s. It was probably a cowboy expression referring to one’s need for sure ‘accurate’ shooting to avoid being shot dead in turn.
Sure as shootin’ … one of these days one of my customers will be coming in and telling me he caught a fish with one of your jackets. (Field and Stream, June 19, 1947)
