out-and-out

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   complete, absolute, and without qualification

   The claim was an out-and-out lie.

2. 2
   adv

   completely or openly; without qualification

   She refused out-and-out to support the dishonest plan.

A reduplicative phrase built from out, recorded from the early nineteenth century. Repetition intensifies the idea of being fully or openly one thing, with nothing concealed or qualified.

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