cut and dried

• cut-and-dried (when modifying a noun),
• cut and dry (less common)

1710, from herbs being cut and dried for sale, rather than fresh.

cut and dried (not comparable)

1. simple, straightforward, clear, or certain

   Take care when guessing, since problems do not always have cut-and-dried answers.

2. decided, set, settled, not open to change
3. (obsolete) lacking freshness or spontaneity

In formal usage, the form cut and dried is more common than cut and dry, and the meaning is rather “settled” than “clear”, and mildly pejorative, following original usage and etymology. Sense of “clear, straightforward” may be influenced by clear cut, which may be preferred.

(clear, obvious):

• clear cut
• cut and dry
• open-and-shut
• res ipsa loquitur

• all over but the shouting
• done deal

• cut and dry / cut and dried, Paul Brians, Common Errors in English Usage (2nd Edition, November, 2008)
• Re: cut and dried, ESC, January 06, 2001, The Phrase Finder
• “Cut and dried” in Michael Quinion, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, 2004, →ISBN.