"lead-pipe cinch" (antedating to 1888 July 29)

[Mark Mandel]

Maybe also because lead is soft, and presumably pressure properly applied to
a lead-pipe joint would seal it more easily than pressure on a pipe made of
another metal.

m a m

On Sat, Jul 10, 2010 at 9:26 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> As HDAS 3 would have shown, "pipe" all by itself was once a common U.S.
> syn.
> for "cinch."
>
> But why a "lead pipe"?
>
> Conceivably because a "lead" pipe is even more substantial than a plain
> "pipe."
>
> But then why a "pipe" at all?
>
> Presumably, "cinch" was inspired by "have a cinch on something," i.e., have
> a tight band on it, hence complete control, a "cinch" becoming both a
> certainty and a snap.
>
> JL
>
>
> On Sat, Jul 10, 2010 at 7:48 AM, Garson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      "lead-pipe cinch" (antedating to 1888 July 29)
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Thanks to Stephen Goranson for a great cite. He is another cite a
> > couple months earlier.
> >
> > Cite: 1888 July 29, Boston Sunday Globe, Page 6, Column 2, Boston,
> > Massachusetts.  (NewspaperArchive)
> >
> > They considered Lucky Baldwin's great filly Los Angeles a "lead pipe
> > cinch," and put their money on at any odds.
> >
> >
> > There is also a match in the Elkhart (Daily) Review dated 1887 January
> > 02 in GenealogyBank. However, this is an incorrect date. The date of
> > the newspaper is really 1897 January 02. The article uses "pipe cinch"
> > instead of "lead-pipe cinch" so I have included it below:
> >
> > Cite: 1897 January 02, The Elkhart (Daily) Review, Monkeys as Fly
> > Catchers, Page 1, Column 2, Elkhart, Indiana. (GenealogyBank)
> >
> > "He only uses two fingers, but the fly is caught. It is a pipe cinch
> > that the monkeys catch nine out of ten flies they reach for and don't
> > seem to try to when they do it."--New Orleans Times-Democrat
> >
> > Garson
> >
> > On Thu, Jul 8, 2010 at 6:43 AM, Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu>
> > wrote:
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
> > > Subject:      "lead-pipe cinch" antedated to 1888
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > New-York tribune. (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, October 04, 1888, Image
> 4
> >  p.4 col. 1
> > > BLUE WING DOWN AGAIN.
> > > EASILY BEATEN BY....
> > > ....In his third race, when intrusted with thousands of dollars by his
> > stable and the public
> > > and looked upon as a "lead-pipe cinch" of the best manufacture, tested
> > and warranted in every manner,
> > > his dickey leg gives way and the faithful are left to mourn.
> > >
> > > Stephen Goranson
> > > http://www.duke.edu/~goranson <http://www.duke.edu/%7Egoranson>
> > >
> > >
> >
> http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1888-10-04/ed-1/seq-4/;words=pipe+cinch+lead
> > >
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> > >
> >
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
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