Jump To:

• 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.

---

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]

---

Etymology

Origin of cut-and-dried

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

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

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

From Barron's • Dec. 15, 2025

When Likely caught the ball and took a couple of steps afterward, it looked like a cut-and-dried catch to anyone watching.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 8, 2025

Because there isn’t a cut-and-dried solution in the context of “Squid Game 2,” it demands conversation, which can be important in and of itself.

From Salon • Dec. 31, 2024

Mathematics in this view is cut-and-dried and calls for nothing so much as mastery of the requisite algorithms, and unlimited patience.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos