tried-and-true

[trahyd-n-troo]

adjective

1. tested and found to be reliable or workable.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tried and true¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Idioms and Phrases

Tested and proved to be worthy or reliable, as in Let me deal with it—my method is tried and true. [Mid-1900s]

Related Words

• proven 

When To Use

What does tried-and-true mean?

Tried-and-true is used to describe things that are known to work or be reliable due to having been tested or having worked many times before.The term uses the sense of the word true meaning reliable and unfailing.Tried-and-true is most often used to describe methods, tools, or other things that someone believes to be reliable because they’ve used many times before and they’ve always worked. It’s often used in situations in which someone wants to continue using the same method or tool they’ve been using to do something instead of trying something new that they’re unfamiliar with (even if it may work better).It’s sometimes used without hyphens, as tried and true. However, if it’s used immediately before a noun, it’s usually hyphenated, as in a tried-and-true method for getting out stains. Example: Why should we try a new recipe for chocolate chip cookies when we could just stick to the one that’s tried-and-true and that we’ve used for years?