Cut and dried
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
Already settled, prepared or decided, often in a routine way that allows little originality or debate. Commonly used in the negative, as in not cut and dried, to stress uncertainty. Attributive use is normally hyphenated, while spelling conventions vary after a linking verb. Regional use: English origin; now international English.
Origin
Cut and dried probably draws on herbs or other plant material prepared in advance by cutting and drying it, but the literal trade image is a plausible explanation rather than a demonstrated act of coinage. Merriam-Webster dates the expression to 1664. Clear early-eighteenth-century examples apply it to ready-made language lacking spontaneity, and by 1740 it could describe a settled matter. The modern predetermined sense therefore emerged from an older idea of something prepared beforehand.
Research Sources
Variants
- Ready cut and dried
Usage Examples
- The interview looked cut and dried until a new witness contacted the reporter.
- Her speech felt cut and dried, with no response to the audience's concerns.
- There is no cut-and-dried answer to a dispute involving several overlapping rights.