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• open-and-shut
  open-and-shut

  adjective

  immediately obvious upon consideration; easily decided.
• open and shut
  open and shut

  Simple, straightforward, easily solved, as in With three eyewitnesses, the prosecutor said this case was open and shut. This term suggests that one has immediate access to the facts of a situation. [c. 1840]

open-and-shut

American  

[oh-puhn-uhn-shuht] / ˈoʊ pən ənˈʃʌt /

adjective

1. immediately obvious upon consideration; easily decided.

   an open-and-shut case of murder.

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open-and-shut British  

adjective

1. easily decided or solved; obvious

   an open-and-shut case

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open and shut Idioms  

1. Simple, straightforward, easily solved, as in With three eyewitnesses, the prosecutor said this case was open and shut. This term suggests that one has immediate access to the facts of a situation. [c. 1840]

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Etymology

Origin of open-and-shut

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Explanation

Anything open-and-shut is straightforward and obvious. Lawyers and detectives love an open-and-shut case because it’s easy to resolve. TV crime shows don’t have a lot of open-and-shut cases because they’re no fun to figure out. Police detectives working on an open-and-shut bank robbery case have no doubt about who the thief is, and they may even know exactly where he's hiding out. An open-and-shut case of workplace discrimination is easy to prove, and the bosses are going to get in big trouble. An open-and-shut case is so obvious that it doesn't take long to wrap it up and move on to the next one. This American English phrase was first used in 1840s New Orleans.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

open-and-shut open and shut

That made this an open-and-shut case, except nothing’s ever that way with Musk.

From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026

Our reviewer, Steven Poole, wrote that “the book proceeds like a convoluted murder mystery, introducing one suspect after another in what seems like an open-and-shut case, before puncturing the promising narrative with an inconvenient fact.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Despite the recordings that made it seem like an open-and-shut case, the prosecutions of Echeverria and Pineda stretched on for years, winding through the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025

This is not an open-and-shut case despite how many people would like to believe it is.

From Salon ● May 15, 2024

But when it comes to cause and effect, there is often a trap in such open-and-shut thinking.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

The agency says it has an open and shut case.

From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026

The crossing, which has been open and shut frequently over the years, is now also the only crossing point for humanitarian aid.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2023

Yet this does not mean that the matter is open and shut.

From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2023

“This should be an open and shut case,” Rakim Brooks, the president of Alliance for Justice, an association of groups focused on creating a more progressive federal judiciary, said in an interview.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2023

Ishmael pushed the door to his office open and shut it again with his shoulder.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson