Perhaps.
The anthropologist in me wants to know the origin and meaning of 'a lead pipe cinch?'
Today we present yet another chapter in our search for the origins of the phrase "lead pipe cinch," meaning a task or accomplishment that is so easy as to be a certainty. Previous theories put forward have included using a lead pipe as a threat to ensure cooperation, as well as the use of a lead pipe as a means of "deflating" a horse which has puffed up its belly to avoid being "cinched" and saddled. Now J.R. Latimer, a reader in Mexico, and Dennis Engbring, from Green Bay, WI, have both e-mailed to me a very convincing "plumbing- based" explanation for the term. Mr. Latimer goes further and deflates the "horse" theory. Mr. Latimer writes:
"I lived for many years in Africa where often one found an older, low-tech form of plumbing. Lead piping was/is used to make critical junctures, and it is "cinched" to the pieces it connects, i.e., the faucet/tap and the incoming pipe. This makes for a very sure, no- leak joint, and to my understanding, the technique has been used since Roman times. Thus the expression "lead pipe cinch" meaning a sure thing or absolutely.
"As for using a pipe to cinch up a saddle, it seems unlikely. I spent some time in a combat active cavalry unit and the standard method to deflate a horse was to kick it in the belly and when it exhaled you pulled the cinch tight. It sounds cruel, but it almost seemed a game for the horse -- anyway, most of the horses don't do this. Growing up in Texas I don't recall ever seeing a pipe laying around a corral and NEVER have I heard of a cowboy or horse soldier carrying one. I suspect the twisting pipe method would get an admiring glance from an inquisitor, but would receive guffaws or worse from other riders. Also, the twisting cinch would pinch the horse, possibly injuring it a place that also gets rubbed. Not good."