open-and-shut

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Two games into this series it looks to us, the members of the jury, as though Redick has taken this allegedly open-and-shut case, this slam dunk of a trial — and thrown down a reverse.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

Our reviewer, Steven Poole, wrote that “the book proceeds like a convoluted murder mystery, introducing one suspect after another in what seems like an open-and-shut case, before puncturing the promising narrative with an inconvenient fact.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

And it’s difficult to envision four members of the current court agreeing to do so given the open-and-shut failure of Davis’ main argument.

From Slate • Aug. 13, 2025

It is not an open-and-shut case at all.

From Salon • May 15, 2024

Judge Willmore didn’t see it as so open-and-shut.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel