subs. (sporting).—A certainty, of which it is an abbreviation. With special reference in racing circles to events looked upon as absolutely sure. Variants are A DEAD, or MORAL, CERTAINTY; A DEAD ’UN; and A MORAL.
1859. Letter from EDWARD S. TAYLOR to John Camden Hotten, 22 Dec. This edition will sell to a DEAD CERTAINTY.
1889. Man of the World, June 29. ‘Love-in-Idleness is bound to take the Rous Memorial, and I hear Pioneer is a CERT. for the St. James’s.’
