cinch en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
Etymology
Borrowed from Occitan cencha, from Latin cincta, or from Spanish cincha (“a belt or girth”), from Late Latin cingula, from Latin cingulum. Doublet of cingle.
Meanings
-
A simple saddle girth used in Mexico.
He found Andy morosely replacing some broken strands in his cinch, and he went straight at the mooted question.
1915, B. M. Bower, The Flying U's Last Stand:
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(informal) Something that is very easy to do.
We thought we had a cinch on getting out by way of this cord and so we followed that.
1913, Major Archibald Lee Fletcher, Boy Scouts in the Coal Caverns:The job was a snap. I travelled the country averaging a thousand miles a week and, since the previous incumbent had been a lazy bugger, managed to treble the business. It was a cinch.
2003, Clive Selwood, All the Moves (but None of the Licks), page 33:Suddenly, being a mom was everything it was advertised to be. Zelly settled into being such a happy, well-behaved infant that she became what Shannon calls a “decoy baby”—the kind that tricks other young couples into thinking that having kids is a cinch.
2015, Steve Silberman, chapter 2, in Megan Newman, editor, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, New York: Avery, →ISBN, page 55:
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(informal) Something that is obvious or certain to occur; a sure thing.
As a matter of fact, from the look of Elmer's shoulder, it wasn't a cinch that he would ever pitch again.
1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks”, in Saturday Evening Post:
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(informal) A firm hold.
You've got the cinch on him. You could send him to quod, and I'd send him there as quick as lightning. I'd hang him, if I could, for what he done to Lil Sarnia.
1916, Gilbert Parker, The World For Sale,:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| cinches | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
lead-pipe cinch · Hungarian cinch
Synonyms
piece of cake (something that is very easy to do) · sure thing (something certain to occur) · breeze
Translations (37)
ru ве́рное де́ло (something that is very easy to do) · nl peuleschil (something that is very easy to do) · fi helppo nakki (something that is very easy to do) · bg влияние (firm hold) · pt canja (something that is very easy to do) · uk легка справа (something that is very easy to do) · fr jeu d'enfant (something that is very easy to do) · es cincha (saddle girth) · gl choio (something that is very easy to do) · nl makkie (something that is very easy to do) · nl eitje (something that is very easy to do) · nl kinderspel (something that is very easy to do) · fi lastenleikki (something that is very easy to do) · bg контрол (firm hold) · ru подпру́га (saddle girth) · fi ote (firm hold) · es facil (something that is very easy to do) · pl łatwizna (something that is very easy to do) · de Sattelgurt (saddle girth) · de Kleinigkeit (something that is very easy to do) · cs hračka (something that is very easy to do) · uk попруга (saddle girth) · ru влия́ние (firm hold) · it gioco da ragazzi (something that is very easy to do) · gl cincha (saddle girth) · ro chingă (saddle girth) · bg подпруга (saddle girth) · ru контро́ль (firm hold) · kk тартпа (saddle girth) · mi kati (saddle girth) · bg лесна работа (something that is very easy to do) · fi satulavyö (saddle girth) · gl cenlla (saddle girth) · ru лёгкое де́ло (something that is very easy to do) · de Kinderspiel (something that is very easy to do) · sv barnlek (something that is very easy to do) · cmn 有把握的事 (something that is very easy to do)