open-and-shut
adjective
1
: perfectly simple : obvious
2
: easily settled
an open-and-shut case of grand larceny
Examples of open-and-shut in a Sentence
an open-and-shut case of robbery
Recent Examples on the Web
The jury deliberated for less than one hour per count to deliver its verdict, suggesting this was an open-and-shut case.
—
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 13 Jan. 2025
Everything comes to a head during a seemingly open-and-shut case of drug trafficking.
—James Marsh, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2025
Running back is another open-and-shut case with the same projection from before camp.
—Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 9 Aug. 2024
Meanwhile, the case’s ambitious prosecutor Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) has political aspirations riding on the trial, while the defendant’s attorney Eric Resnick (Chris Messina) tells her this is hardly an open-and-shut case.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2024
While everyone else sees an open-and-shut case, Justin’s life flashes before his eyes.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 28 Oct. 2024
The trial has developed from what initially seemed to investigators like an open-and-shut case into a reckoning with a criminal justice system the public no longer trusts.
—Aja Romano, Vox, 3 July 2024
Though the case seems open-and-shut to the lead detective (Bill Camp), the show initially aligns itself closely with the alleged perpetrator and his lawyer (John Turturro), only to raise troubling questions later.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2024
Variations in the gene’s expression would have provided a simple, open-and-shut way to explain how the evolutionary screws on rattlesnake motor neurons are adjusted.
—Quanta Magazine, 11 Mar. 2024
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The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 13 Jan. 2025
Everything comes to a head during a seemingly open-and-shut case of drug trafficking.
—James Marsh, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2025
Running back is another open-and-shut case with the same projection from before camp.
—Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 9 Aug. 2024
Meanwhile, the case’s ambitious prosecutor Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) has political aspirations riding on the trial, while the defendant’s attorney Eric Resnick (Chris Messina) tells her this is hardly an open-and-shut case.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2024
While everyone else sees an open-and-shut case, Justin’s life flashes before his eyes.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 28 Oct. 2024
The trial has developed from what initially seemed to investigators like an open-and-shut case into a reckoning with a criminal justice system the public no longer trusts.
—Aja Romano, Vox, 3 July 2024
Though the case seems open-and-shut to the lead detective (Bill Camp), the show initially aligns itself closely with the alleged perpetrator and his lawyer (John Turturro), only to raise troubling questions later.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2024
Variations in the gene’s expression would have provided a simple, open-and-shut way to explain how the evolutionary screws on rattlesnake motor neurons are adjusted.
—Quanta Magazine, 11 Mar. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Open-and-shut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open-and-shut. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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