as in obvious
not subject to misinterpretation or more than one interpretation
an open-and-shut case of robbery
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Recent Examples of open-and-shut
For what’s been characterized as an open-and-shut case, there are still a lot of questions about the slayings of Hollywood icon Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele.
—
Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 7 Jan. 2026
Lamar Jackson makes that an open-and-shut case.
—Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 6 Jan. 2026
As the years wore on, police and prosecutors released no updates to the public on why a case presented as open-and-shut was taking so long to reach a jury.
—Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, 24 Dec. 2025
The killings initially appeared to be an open-and-shut case of murder-suicide, at the hands of Jeremy’s sister, Sheila.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025
Especially after Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey, asked Tuesday afternoon to define Melvin’s status, declined to provide an open-and-shut answer.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
From the outset, this seemed like an open-and-shut case.
—Gemma Allen, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
Pricing and Value So far, it's been an open-and-shut case for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, right?
—PC Magazine, 22 June 2025
Even with the video secured, however, the case is far from open-and-shut legally: The thin blue line gets awfully blurred as Stéphanie runs into infuriating technicalities and roadblocks from higher-ups.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 15 May 2025
Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 7 Jan. 2026
Lamar Jackson makes that an open-and-shut case.
—Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 6 Jan. 2026
As the years wore on, police and prosecutors released no updates to the public on why a case presented as open-and-shut was taking so long to reach a jury.
—Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, 24 Dec. 2025
The killings initially appeared to be an open-and-shut case of murder-suicide, at the hands of Jeremy’s sister, Sheila.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025
Especially after Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey, asked Tuesday afternoon to define Melvin’s status, declined to provide an open-and-shut answer.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
From the outset, this seemed like an open-and-shut case.
—Gemma Allen, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
Pricing and Value So far, it's been an open-and-shut case for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, right?
—PC Magazine, 22 June 2025
Even with the video secured, however, the case is far from open-and-shut legally: The thin blue line gets awfully blurred as Stéphanie runs into infuriating technicalities and roadblocks from higher-ups.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 15 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for open-and-shut
Adjective
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Henry Ford, but for housing If the goal is to bring down building costs, rethinking the basics of the construction process is an obvious place to start.—
Ben Christopher,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The imminent launch got less obvious cues throughout the show, too.—
James Manso,
Footwear News,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Yet a significant portion of the crowd remains dedicated members, and their deep appreciation of– and cosmic ode to protect, this space is more than apparent.—
Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Last Thursday, the league issued a $500,000 fine to the Utah Jazz and a $100,000 penalty to the Indiana Pacers for sitting healthy players, believing their apparent tanking actions compromised the league's competitive integrity.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The math was straightforward; get rid of Perardi, pay off the debt.—
Matthew Bremner,
Rolling Stone,
11 Feb. 2026
-
If so, keep it straightforward with east-facing for sunrise and west-facing for sunsets.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The Telltale Signs of Rotary Motion The re-examination revealed unmistakable evidence that this was no simple awl meant for poking holes.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
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Those distinctive features give the species a look that is at once gentle and unmistakable — a face that, for the wildlife community, has become a symbol of how close a species can come to vanishing entirely and still find a path back.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The shift away from historically high-paying, white-collar jobs is already evident in the choices Gen Z is making.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
11 Feb. 2026
-
That should be evident for the next six weeks around the Charlotte Sports Complex, as pitchers and catchers — many of whom have already been there working out — formally report Wednesday and take the field for the first official session Thursday morning.—
Marc Topkin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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McDonald said a clear motive was not identified, nor was a specific target.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Earlier this week, after lawmakers said the names of several high-profile figures had been concealed in the documents without clear legal reasons, the department also moved to un-redact more than a dozen additional names.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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New research shows that people with obesity host a distinct oral microbiome compared to individuals at a healthy weight.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
14 Feb. 2026
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Here are 10 facts that make Presidents’ Day a distinct, and often misunderstood, national holiday.—
Tiago Ventura,
Time,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Open-and-shut.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/open-and-shut. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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