据说,“cut and dried”(字面意:砍下和风干)源于伐木业。长在林间的树木若要成为商用木材,锯下后必被风干,同时,锯下的木材必得合乎标准长宽。由此,这种“standardized lumber that is cut and dried”(风干后合乎标准的方材)常用来比喻某类言行从不标新立异、某种结果已在预料之中、某类影片成一种套路模式。 看下面两个例句:
Most spokespeople are expert vendors of cut and dried answers to reporters' questions.(大多数发言人擅用“套话”来搪塞记者提问。)
Hollywood has long been famous for movie plots so cut and dried. (好莱坞影片常走一种套路是众人皆知的。)