pure and simple
No more and no less, plainly so, as in This so-called educational video is really a game, pure and simple. This expression is very nearly redundant, since pure and simple here mean “plain” and “unadorned.” Oscar Wilde played on it in The Importance of Being Earnest (1895): “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” [Second half of 1800s]
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
simple, sheer, bare, minor, pure, real, perfect, natural, classic, plain, unadulterated, authentic, bright, neat, transparent, true, modest, clean, elementary, uncomplicated
Nearby words
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Examples from the Web for pure and simple
This was a pure-and-simple buccaneering venture, conducted with spirit and skill, and finally with success.
A Short History of the Royal Navy 1217 to 1688|David Hannay