Sure, Jan

A look into the colloquial usage of one of our most common affirmatives.

Literally, to be sure of something is to be certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Merriam-Webster defines it as “confident certainty” and a “lack of wavering or hesitation.” But is this really how we use the word most frequently in our day-to-day speech?

When we use ‘sure’ to convey that confidence which the dictionary describes, we usually attach a prepo…