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
-
Light damage is less obvious, but just as destructive.—
Emily Price,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Yet Bob Atrops was an obvious suspect.—
Sarah Prior,
CBS News,
25 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The marijuana dealer, an apparent friend of Tatmon, got into an argument.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
-
After the team’s latest loss, LeBron James addressed the ESPN report that detailed Lakers governor Jeanie Buss’ apparent frustrations with the four-time NBA champion.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Regardless of how favorable the figures appear, stock investment is never a straightforward path.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Across from this transforming toilet room, the kitchen remains more straightforward and traditional.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The deep greens and cheery set pieces that mirror Seurat’s unmistakable style play well with Madeline Berger’s wide-ranging and highly effective costume design, all put together through David Mӧschler’s music direction.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The arrival of the cold front and blizzard was unmistakable.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
What's already evident is that the capital flows are substantial and the strategic questions are real.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
-
The consequences of that dependency were evident after Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, when customers reported price increases ranging from 800% to 1,500%, with little recourse beyond acceptance or costly migration.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The answer became partly clear when a series of leaks known as the Congo Hold‑Up showed that Joseph Kabila Kabange, the former president, and his entourage had used a bank called BGFI to siphon at least $138 million from the country.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Despite this, the particles still form interference patterns, a clear sign of wave-like behavior.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But beyond all that, the sports issue has brought out the reality of biology itself, underscoring the fact that femininity and masculinity are not just states of mind, and that men and women are irreversibly, insurmountably different and distinct in anatomy and physiology.—
Alanna Smith,
New York Daily News,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The stimulation produces a distinct physical sensation inside the nose.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Open-and-shut.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/open-and-shut. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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