Total external reflection (TER), which does not occur on a dielectric interface, is a unique feature of surface plasmon-polaritons (SPP). We propose an SPP-TER waveguide structure consisting of low-index dielectric nanocore covered with high-index dielectric on a flat metal surface. The SPP mode confined in the nanocore by the TER effect has a mode size much smaller than wavelength scale. Numerical comparison of mode characteristics between the SPP-TER waveguides and other total-internal-reflection-based waveguides such as metal or high-index dielectric nanowires show that the SPP-TER structures can possess higher modal gain for applications of nanocavity lasers.