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3. open and shut

open and shut

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open and shut

if a legal case or problem is open and shut, the facts are very clear and it is easy to make a decision or find a solution The police think the case is open and shut: five witnesses saw the man stealing the car. It's going to take a lot of work to deal with this problem. It certainly isn't an open-and-shut matter.

See also: and, open, shut

open and shut

Simple, straightforward, easily solved, as in With three eyewitnesses, the prosecutor said this case was open and shut. This term suggests that one has immediate access to the facts of a situation. [c. 1840]

See also: and, open, shut