pure and simple

Idioms  

1. 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]

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Example Sentences

Money, pure and simple, is a main reason.

From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026

"The cliche would be to underplay it but, we need to start with a win on Sunday, pure and simple," said North.

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2023

That is honesty and respect for our years of following you, pure and simple.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2023

"Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple," Kirby said.

From Reuters • May 4, 2023

It was alchemy, pure and simple; no one had ever imagined that such a thing could happen naturally and spontaneously.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• authentic
• bright
• classic
• natural
• neat
• perfect
• plain
• real
• simple
• transparent
• true
• unadulterated