| E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898. |
| | | Cock Sure | | |
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is cocky sure—pertly confident. We call a self-confident, overbearing prig a cocky fellow, from the barnyard despot; but Shakespeare employs the phrase in the sense of “sure as the cock of a firelock.” | 1 |
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“We steal as in a castle, cock-sure.”—Shakespeare: 1 Henry IV., ii. 1. |
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 The French phrase is à coup sûr, as “Nous réussirons à coup sûr,” we are certain of success, “Cela est ainsi à coup sûr,” etc., and the phrase “Sure as a gun,” seem to favour the latter derivation. | 2 |
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