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
Her payments were spotty, the lawyer said, but overall, the case had been open-and-shut.
—
Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 18 Mar. 2026
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
Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 18 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for open-and-shut
Adjective
-
Chapman followed with an RBI single, and the crowd cheered as many fans jumped to their feet in obvious relief.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The voice on Lars’s tablet insisted that teaching was one of the most obvious tasks to delegate to humanoids.—
Alexandra Petri,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Then Evans made another 3, prompting Pitino to turn his back in apparent disbelief.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The White House’s inability to grasp the agency of others — its apparent lack of a theory of mind for everyone outside its walls — gives Democrats, especially, a distinct advantage.—
Jamelle Bouie,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
On his first solo release in eight years, 100 gecs’ mutant-pop prankster turns his attention to relatively straightforward big-tent EDM—but not without a little noise-scene provocation.—
Colin Joyce,
Pitchfork,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Bottom line Gold bullion coins are one of the more straightforward ways to add physical gold to a portfolio, but the details matter.—
Sharon Wu,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The point of dropping bombs in Cuba, then, wouldn’t be to subdue the Cuban armed forces so much as to produce a visible, unmistakable rupture—a before and after that Trump can point to.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The message to investors is unmistakable.—
Jeff Coller,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Nowhere is this more evident than in Florida, where there are 281 local and state agencies with over 300 agreements, according to a Miami Herald analysis of ICE data.—
Garrett Shanley,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
-
This shift is particularly evident in the popularity of T-Shirt Bras, which are designed to vanish under clothing while providing a smooth, rounded shape.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Details on when the council will meet were not immediately clear.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Mar. 2026
-
While there is no law in Connecticut explicitly prohibiting the use of plug-in panels, also known as balcony solar, the need for interconnection agreements with local utilities and a lack of clear regulations has effectively stifled their widespread adoption, experts say.—
John Moritz,
Hartford Courant,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Food and drink Like everything else at The Rooster, the food has a distinct sense of place but also a cosmopolitan sensibility.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Because of its distinct grooves and marks, the stone piece was believed to be some kind of board game – but obviously no rulebook was dug up to confirm this.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Open-and-shut.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/open-and-shut. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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