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Phrase of the day 2/19

5 years ago

Cut and dried

There is a widely held belief that the common expression cut and dried – meaning “something already prepared” – came from “jerky,” thin strips of sun-dried beef that once were staples of the cowboy’s rations on long trail drives. Actually, this meaning of cut and dried is older that the oldest cowboy by a few centuries. It goes back to the ancient practice of cutting wood and letting it dry out thoroughly before using it in a fire.

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