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tried and tested

tried and tested

3 3.6
Often used for a long time because it works well
  • idiom
translation icon : comprobado y testado
  • It's a tried and tested technique.

The other three were of a newer design that wasn't so tried and tested yet.

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Examples

  • Engaging people in service at an early age is a tried and tested way of instilling important civic values.

    Academic text (1998)
  • These are tried and tested engines that, in theory, would save NASA money.

  • And then, of course, everything had to be tried and tested.

    Academic text (2006)
  • What we share with you and show you has been tried and tested.

    Blog text (33)
  • So our ideas were tried and tested, and they worked.

    Blog text (4)
  • Apparently, Century 21 agents are tried and tested professionals.

    Blog text (16)
  • It's a tried and tested remedy.

  • We have a tried and tested complaint-handling procedure here at West Ham.

  • Remploy says that work trials are a tried and tested way of giving people experience in the workplace, and the number of successful trials has run into the thousands.

    Academic text (2009)
  • The new medication is a tried and tested remedy for chronic pain.

Synonyms

tried and true
vstried and tested
  • Informal
15 3.4

Known to work well because people used it before

is about general reliability after use rather than familiarity
time-tested
vstried and tested
6 3.8

Proven to work well for a long time

is reliable after being used or examined over time
proven
vstried and tested
1 3.2

Shown by facts to be true and to work well

relies more on repeated use and ongoing reliability than single evidence
time-tried
vstried and tested
6.3

Has worked well for many years

is reliable after use or checks without stressing long history
well-tried
vstried and tested
3.8

Works well after many tests

is similar but may not stress the same thoroughness
tried
vstried and tested
2.0

Known to work well because people have used it before

is the same idea but framed as a combined process
tested
vstried and tested
2.5

Shown to work well after people try or use it

focuses more on effective reliability gained over repeated use
established
vstried and tested
4.2

Known and accepted because it has existed for a long time

emphasises practical effectiveness after use rather than broad acceptance

How Reliable

proven
1 3.2
time-tested
6 3.8
tried and tested
3 3.6
reliable
358 2.7

Surface Forms

tried and tested positive

Morphology

tried + and + tested

Both parts 'tried' and 'tested' literally mean evaluated or examined, and joining them with 'and' creates an emphatic compositional phrase meaning 'proven reliable or effective'. This is a predictable, non-idiomatic combination (common cross-linguistically), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Tried and tested comes from the simple image of a tool or idea that is first tried and then tested many times to see if it works. So, it now means 'proven' or 'reliable'.