"sure-fire" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sure",
        "3": "fire"
      },
      "expansion": "sure + fire",
      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From sure + fire, originally used to denote the efficacy of firearms (rifles) to fire.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more sure-fire",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most sure-fire",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "surefire",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "sure-fire (comparative more sure-fire, superlative most sure-fire)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "That hat should be a sure-fire way to spot him in a crowd.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005, Cory Doctorow, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town:",
          "text": "[…] 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, […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "There certainly looks to be a whole clutch of sure-fire winners among the 11 promised new productions.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2025 February 14, JD Vance, “Munich security conference speech in full”, in The Telegraph:",
          "text": "I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns or worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing. In fact, it is the most sure-fire way to destroy democracy.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Guaranteed to work or happen."
      ],
      "id": "en-sure-fire-en-adj-yuefAXuz",
      "links": [
        [
          "Guaranteed",
          "guaranteed"
        ],
        [
          "work",
          "work"
        ],
        [
          "happen",
          "happen"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "foolproof"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "seguro"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "infalible"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "sure-fire"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sure",
        "3": "fire"
      },
      "expansion": "sure + fire",
      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From sure + fire, originally used to denote the efficacy of firearms (rifles) to fire.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more sure-fire",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most sure-fire",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "surefire",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "sure-fire (comparative more sure-fire, superlative most sure-fire)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "foolproof"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English adjectives",
        "English compound terms",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Translation table header lacks gloss"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "That hat should be a sure-fire way to spot him in a crowd.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005, Cory Doctorow, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town:",
          "text": "[…] 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, […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "There certainly looks to be a whole clutch of sure-fire winners among the 11 promised new productions.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2025 February 14, JD Vance, “Munich security conference speech in full”, in The Telegraph:",
          "text": "I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns or worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing. In fact, it is the most sure-fire way to destroy democracy.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Guaranteed to work or happen."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Guaranteed",
          "guaranteed"
        ],
        [
          "work",
          "work"
        ],
        [
          "happen",
          "happen"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "seguro"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "infalible"
    }
  ],
  "word": "sure-fire"
}