In today’s “English Idioms for Newcomers“, let’s take a look at this expression: Cut and Dried.
What does “cut and dried” mean?
- Clear and definite
- Done and completed
- Settled, decided, and unlikely to change
How to use it?
- “Cut and dried” is used to describe a situation, solution, or plan.
- You can use it as a predicate adjective, which modifies the subject of a sentence.
- You can use it as an attributive modifier, but in this case, you will need to write it in this way – “cut-and-dried”.
Examples:
- We need cut-and-dried answers.
- In real life, criminal investigations are usually not as cut and dried as most TV shows depict.
Before you go, check out our English Learning tips articles!
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References:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/
