fair and square


Just and honest, as in He won the race fair and square. This redundant expression—fair and square mean essentially the same thing—probably owes its long life to its rhyme. [Early 1600s]

Words Nearby fair and square

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

How to use fair and square in a sentence

  • I need hardly say, however, that the spider does not kill her prey by a mere fair-and-square bite alone.

    Science in Arcady | Grant Allen