dead cert

noun

dead cert

noun

Etymology Clipped compound of dead certainty.

1

Informal A practically guaranteed outcome.

It's a dead cert that United will beat City in the cup.
“Jockeys are bad tipsters. But that one was a cert, a dead cert.” A dead cert. The casual, everyday racing expression jabbed in my mind like a needle.1962, Dick Francis, chapter 4, in Dead Cert, published 2004, page 46:

1 more example

"Tees Valley is our first target. It's not a dead cert yet, but we are very hopeful.2020 May 20, Paul Clifton, “A hydrogen solution to decarbonisation?”, in Rail, page 54:

Synonyms: sure thing

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.