- cut and dried
- DEFINITE, decided, settled, explicit, specific, precise, unambiguous, clear-cut, unequivocal, black and white, hard and fast.→ cut
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cut and dry or cut and dried1. Ready made2. Fixed beforehand, decided in advance• • •Main Entry: ↑cut————————• • •Main Entry: ↑dry* * *
cut and dried UK US adjectiveif something is cut and dried, it is already clearly decided or settledThesaurus: true, definite and based on factssynonym* * *
cut-and-dried «KUHT uhn DRYD», adjective, or cut and dried,1. ready for use; arranged in advance: »It is clear that in these circumstances the man who would turn this report into a cut-and-dried prescription for politicians had better tread carefully (Manchester Guardian).
2. Figurative. dull; uninteresting: »His speech was cut and dried because he had nothing new to say.
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[often with negative] (of a situation) completely settled or decidedthe championship is not as cut and dried as everyone thinks
Origin:early 18th cent.: originally used to distinguish the herbs of herbalists' shops from growing herbs* * *
decided in a way that cannot be changed or argued about•
The inquiry is by no means cut and dried.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.