Why is something easy called a "cinch"? And why is something that's absolutely guaranteed a "lead-pipe cinch"?

"Cinch," which first entered English during the 1850s from the Spanish "cincha," means a band, belt or strap encircling the body of an animal, such as a horse, to fasten a saddle to its back.

Because a cinch is secure, "cinch" soon came to mean "anything that's certain to happen" and, hence, "easily accomplished," as in "Getting this job will be a cinch."

But determining the origin of "lead-pipe cinch" is hardly a lead-pipe cinch. Instead, the certainty of its origin is more like a gossamer thread encircling an elusive pixie.

Four theories for the derivation of "lead-pipe cinch" have been proposed:

No. 1: Before tightening the cinch on a horse's saddle, a rancher would hit the horse in the ribs with a lead pipe to expel air from its lungs and then immediately tighten the cinch on the deflated creature.

When the horse inhaled, its chest expanded. So the cinch would then be very tight indeed — a "lead-pipe cinch." (We use this same technique when we exhale to fit into our "skinny" jeans.)

No. 2: Ranchers would sometimes use a lead pipe to twist and tighten a saddle cinch, creating a "lead-pipe cinch."

No. 3: During the gaslight era, urban muggers would often assault their victims with lead pipes, weapons that were certain to be effective. Soon, anything that was guaranteed to work or occur was being called "lead-pipe," as in a "lead-pipe deal" or a "lead-pipe cinch."

No. 4: When 19th-century plumbers wanted to secure a critical connection, they'd use a sturdy lead pipe to "cinch" (secure) a joint. So anything certain to happen came to be called a "lead-pipe cinch."

So who gave us this term? Ranchers, muggers or plumbers?

The two rancher theories seem improbable. Why would a rancher use a lead pipe to knock the wind out of a horse when a simple kick to the ribs would do the trick? And, if a rancher wanted a handy object to tighten a saddle cinch, wouldn't he just grab something lying around the corral: a stick, a fence post, a piece of beef jerky?

And it's just too chilling to think that a mugger's term for certain success in his nefarious enterprise would spread so far and wide. Should today's term for certainty be "a Glock cinch"?

Of all the explanations in the pipeline, the plumbing origin makes the most sense. But it's far from a lead-pipe cinch.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Photo credit: Ruairidh an Dorcha