pure and simple


pure and simple

Essentially or fundamentally so, without exaggeration or elaboration. If you are caught cheating on an exam or assignment, you will fail the entire class, pure and simple. No matter how much they claim it will help the average worker, this is a tax break for the wealthy, pure and simple.See also: and, pure, simple

pure and simple

 and plain and simpleabsolutely; without further complication or elaboration. I told you what you must do, and you must do it, pure and simple. Will you kindly explain to me what it is, pure and simple, that I am expected to do? Just tell me plain and simple, do you intend to go or don't you?See also: and, pure, simple

pure and simple

No more and no less, plainly so, as in This so-called educational video is really a game, pure and simple. This expression is very nearly redundant, since pure and simple here mean "plain" and "unadorned." Oscar Wilde played on it in The Importance of Being Earnest (1895): "The truth is rarely pure and never simple." [Second half of 1800s] See also: and, pure, simple

pure and simple

and nothing else. 1991 Alabama Game & Fish They are bred for waterfowling, pure and simple. See also: and, pure, simple

ˌpure and ˈsimple

and nothing else: This man is a bully, pure and simple. ▶ ˌpurely and ˈsimply adv.: I am basing my opinion purely and simply on the facts of the case.See also: and, pure, simple

pure and simple

mod. basically; essentially. Bart is a crook, pure and simple. See also: and, pure, simple

pure and simple

Plainly so, without amplification or dilution. This pairing is almost but not quite redundant; it dates from the nineteenth century. Oscar Wilde played on it in The Importance of Being Earnest (1895): “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”See also: and, pure, simple