Surefire describes something that cannot fail. A surefire way to fall asleep is one that works every time.

Surefire萬無一失的（surefire） describes形容 something that cannot fail不會失敗的東西。A surefire way to fall asleep一個surefire的入睡方法 is one that works every time是每次都有效的那種。

A surefire hit is a song or film everyone is certain will succeed. It goes in front of a noun, and it goes in front of a small family of nouns in particular: a surefire way, a surefire method, a surefire hit, a surefire winner, a surefire success. You will rarely see it anywhere else, so it is best learned as part of those phrases rather than as a loose adjective.

A surefire hit一首surefire hit（保證紅的作品） is a song or film everyone is certain will succeed是大家都篤定會成功的歌曲或電影。It goes in front of a noun它放在名詞前面，and it goes in front of a small family of nouns in particular而且特別常放在一小群固定的名詞前面：a surefire way, a surefire method, a surefire hit, a surefire winner, a surefire success像a surefire way、a surefire method、a surefire hit、a surefire winner、a surefire success這些。You will rarely see it anywhere else你很少在其他地方看到它，so it is best learned as part of those phrases rather than as a loose adjective所以最好把它當成這些片語的一部分來學，而不是當成一個自由使用的形容詞。

The tone is casual and cheerful — advertising, magazines, friends giving advice. "Here are five surefire ways to save money." And notice what that tone does: because the claim is so absolute, it is often used a little loosely, or with a wink. When a newspaper calls a young player a "surefire star," everyone knows nothing in life is truly certain; the word is enthusiasm, not a guarantee. It also turns up in the phrase "a surefire bet," which people say about things that then sometimes lose.

The tone is casual and cheerful這個字的語氣輕鬆愉快——advertising, magazines, friends giving advice常見於廣告、雜誌、朋友給建議的時候。"Here are five surefire ways to save money."像「Here are five surefire ways to save money（這裡有五個保證有效的省錢方法）」And notice what that tone does你會注意到這種語氣的作用：because the claim is so absolute因為講得這麼肯定，it is often used a little loosely, or with a wink它常常用得有點誇張，或帶點眨眼的意味。When a newspaper calls a young player a "surefire star,"當報紙稱一個年輕球員是「surefire star（未來之星）」時，everyone knows nothing in life is truly certain大家都知道人生沒有真正確定的事；the word is enthusiasm, not a guarantee這個字表達的是熱情，不是保證。It also turns up in the phrase "a surefire bet,"它也會出現在「a surefire bet（穩贏的賭注）」這個片語裡，which people say about things that then sometimes lose大家用來講後來卻有時候輸掉的事。

The spelling varies: surefire, sure-fire, and sure fire all appear. Surefire and sure-fire are both common and safe. The origin is from guns — an old sure-fire weapon was one that always went off when you pulled the trigger, never a misfire — which is a nice picture to keep in your head.

The spelling varies拼法不只一種：surefire, sure-fire, and sure fire all appearsurefire、sure-fire、sure fire三種都會出現。Surefire and sure-fire are both common and safesurefire和sure-fire這兩種寫法都很常見、都可以放心用。The origin is from guns這個字的來源是槍——an old sure-fire weapon was one that always went off when you pulled the trigger以前的sure-fire weapon（保證擊發的槍）是那種你一扣扳機一定會擊發的槍，never a misfire從來不會啞火——which is a nice picture to keep in your head這個畫面很值得記在腦海裡。