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

Example Sentences

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

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

The complex interactions of fluid and soft matter physics prove challenging to simplify into cut-and-dried formulae.

From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2024

The infraction was so cut-and-dried, and my writing so plain and direct, that I was about to explode from frustration.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover