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• tried-and-true
  tried-and-true

  adjective

  tested and found to be reliable or workable.
• tried and true
  tried and true

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

tried-and-true

American  

[trahyd-n-troo] / ˈtraɪd nˈtru /

adjective

1. tested and found to be reliable or workable.

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tried and true Idioms  

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

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Usage

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?

Etymology

Origin of tried-and-true

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tried-and-true tried and true

For cloud-computing giants, though, there is something of a reprieve: At least they could fall back on the tried-and-true business model that sustained them before AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

"Fireworks are a tried-and-true American tradition," Jodi Dague, Pyrotecnico's director of marketing, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

Then there’s the even more tried-and-true path of breaking into acting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

Consider a few tried-and-true methods — and some novel ones — to ease the pain at the pump.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 24, 2026

“Just relax. This is going to be great. Just stick with the tried-and-true, like a diner. Something basic.”

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

The tried and true disciplines — diversification across and within asset classes and periodic rebalancing — do not make headlines.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

Structure, rules, lines — all of these were tried and true and would work for me in this avenue of life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

The new creations entered the repertory amid a number of authoritative performances of tried and true ballets—mostly by the troupe’s incomparable founding choreographer George Balanchine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

He liked the tried and true “blue team-red team” strategy of designating people to explicitly challenge models and assumptions to overcome institutional biases.

From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026

The process of arriving at a final result was tried and true, and completely transparent.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• proven