sure-fire
See also: surefire
English
Alternative forms
- surefire
Etymology
sure + fire, originally used to denote the efficacy of firearms (rifles) to fire.
Adjective
sure-fire (comparative more sure-fire, superlative most sure-fire)
- Guaranteed to work or happen.
- That hat should be a sure-fire way to spot him in a crowd.
- 2005, Cory Doctorow, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town:
- […] just as he knew that showing up for lunch with a brown bag full of dried squirrel jerky and mushrooms and lemongrass was a surefire way to end up social roadkill in the high school hierarchy, […]
- 2014 April 29, Andrew Clements, “ENO's 14/15 season: some sure-fire winners, while Coliseum plans will strengthen the company”, in The Guardian, ISSN 0261-3077:
- There certainly looks to be a whole clutch of sure-fire winners among the 11 promised new productions.
See also
- foolproof