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
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
That detracts from the open-and-shut case against the university.
—Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 11 May 2025
What looked like an open-and-shut victory for Natalia has suddenly become an impossible case.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 30 Apr. 2025
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
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
That detracts from the open-and-shut case against the university.
—Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 11 May 2025
What looked like an open-and-shut victory for Natalia has suddenly become an impossible case.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 30 Apr. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for open-and-shut
Adjective
-
Even as the calendar flipped to September and the clinch appeared obvious, the idea of October was sidestepped.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
-
That equality, and the diminishment of obvious markers—peculiar clothes, a strange language, obscure traditions—could be disturbing, and not just to conservative rabbis who saw their authority fading.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In October 2023, Kristil went to police with a detailed spreadsheet documenting every interaction with her apparent stalker.—
Doc Louallen,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Nowhere is this more apparent than one of the first kisses shared between Patrick (Jonathan Groff), a privileged white video game designer, and Richie (Raúl Castillo), the Mexican club doorman hopelessly in love with him.—
James Factora,
Them.,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Despite having a relatively straightforward main plot, the first Hades excelled at grafting deep backstories and layered personalities to each of its many characters that fleshed out Greek mythology.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
-
The commercial test that will decide competitiveness is straightforward.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This narrowing was the unmistakable sign of quantum squeezing.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Fallon is known for being late night’s most lighthearted personality, but still, there was an unmistakable undertone of avoidance in his performance on Thursday.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
That divergence is also becoming evident in sentiment surveys.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
-
That’s evident in a playful pair of cashmere travel socks in a bold orange shade and the detailing on some of the other pieces.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Carrie Severino, president of the conservative advocacy group Judicial Crisis Network, told the Washington Examiner that clearer emergency docket orders can help stop issues from returning to the docket, while commending the justices for taking up the FTC firing case.—
Jack Birle,
The Washington Examiner,
23 Sep. 2025
-
The suite of changes were announced despite a notable lack of clear scientific evidence to support these moves.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Both believe such a move is a distinct possibility, and a realistic one.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
21 Sep. 2025
-
These distinct trends and developments are coalescing at the same time that Hollywood creatives need to wrap their arms around a different kind of AI challenge.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
21 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Open-and-shut.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/open-and-shut. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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