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• cut-and-dried
  cut-and-dried

  adjective

  prepared or settled in advance; not needing much thought or discussion.
• cut and dried
  cut and dried

  Ready-made, predetermined and not changeable. For example, The procedure is not quite cut and dried—there's definitely room for improvisation. This expression originally alluded to herbs for sale in a shop, as opposed to fresh, growing herbs. [c. 1900]

cut-and-dried

American  

[kuht-n-drahyd] / ˈkʌt nˈdraɪd /

Or cut-and-dry

adjective

1. prepared or settled in advance; not needing much thought or discussion.

   a cut-and-dried decision.

2. lacking in originality or spontaneity; routine; boring.

   a lecture that was cut-and-dried.

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cut and dried Idioms  

1. Ready-made, predetermined and not changeable. For example, The procedure is not quite cut and dried—there's definitely room for improvisation. This expression originally alluded to herbs for sale in a shop, as opposed to fresh, growing herbs. [c. 1900]

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Etymology

Origin of cut-and-dried

First recorded in 1700–10

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cut-and-dried cut and dried

But the writers don’t paint Macon as a simple villain, or anyone else as a cut-and-dried protagonist.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

But as Justice Sonia Sotomayor explains, the case is also fairly cut-and-dried based on a Supreme Court interpretation of the statute dating back to 1950.

From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026

While Selig frames the CFTC’s jurisdiction as cut-and-dried, others have argued that the agency’s actions could open up a host of policy questions that it is underequipped to handle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026

“It isn’t going to be a cut-and-dried outcome.”

From Barron's ● Dec. 15, 2025

“It’s not that cut-and-dried for me right now,” I say.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

But the decision wasn’t as cut and dried for Apple.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

If the grey belt had been defined in a legally watertight way… then it would have been cut and dried and you could have built a lot of houses, but they didn't do that.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025

John Pelissero, a former interim college president who now works for the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, said instances of plagiarism deserve to be evaluated individually and that it’s not always so cut and dried.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 2, 2024

Doctors say that real-life pregnancy complications are rarely so cut and dried.

From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2023

“Life isn’t so cut and dried as you like to make it, Moose. You have to use your head.”

From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko

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