cut and dried

Prearranged, unchangeable, and dull. When it appears before a noun, the phrase is usually hyphenated. The coursework is cut and dried, so don't even think about coming to me in pursuit of extra credit. There are no cut-and-dried solutions here. We need to come up with something.

fixed; determined beforehand; usual and uninteresting. (Can be hyphenated before nominals.) I find your writing quite boring. It's too cut and dried. The lecture was, as usual, cut and dried.

Ready-made, predetermined and not changeable. For example, The procedure is not quite cut and dried-there's definitely room for improvisation. This expression originally alluded to herbs for sale in a shop, as opposed to fresh, growing herbs. [c. 1900]

COMMON If a situation or issue is cut and dried, it is clear and definite. Now, this situation is not as cut and dried as it may seem. The link between stress and heart attacks is by no means cut and dried, although most people feel intuitively that it exists. There are no cut-and-dried answers to the problem. What appeared to be a cut-and-dried issue, may in fact be a little more complex. Note: One explanation for this expression is that it refers to wood which has been cut and dried and is ready to use. Alternatively, it may refer to herbs that have been harvested and dried, to be used for cooking and medicine.

Commonplace, routine, hackneyed; settled beforehand. The term dates from the early eighteenth century, and there is some disagreement as to its origin. Most authorities believe it referred to timber, which customarily is cut to standard sizes and dried before it is used. One writer, however, believes it refers to the wares of English herbalists, which were cut and then dried before being sold. Jonathan Swift used the phrase figuratively for boring speech (Betty the Grisette, 1730): “Set of phrases, cut and dry, evermore thy tongue supply.”