Done and dusted

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Neil Hello, and welcome to The English We Speak, I’m Neil and joining me in the studio today is Helen.

Helen Hello everyone. It’s nice to relax a bit. It’s been a crazy few weeks. We had just four weeks to buy our new home.

Neil Oh no, four weeks! That’s really not much time.

Helen I know. Luckily the lawyers were very helpful. We got the mortgage in time and we completed the purchase last weekend.

Neil So you’ve finally got your own place.

Helen Yes, the money has exchanged hands and we got our keys yesterday!

Neil Brilliant, so it’s all done and dusted then.

Helen No, we haven’t had the chance to inspect the house yet. Never mind dusting it.

Neil I wasn’t talking about dusting the house!

Helen But I heard you ask if it was done and dusted.

Neil Oh, it’s just a way of saying everything is OK now - nothing else needs doing. You’ve closed the deal on your house purchase. It’s done and dusted.

Helen So the phrase done and dusted means work on something is completely finished. When I heard you say dust, I thought you were asking me if I had cleaned the house. No way, I only got the keys yesterday! I haven’t even set foot in the house yet.

Neil Done and dusted is actually a very common expression. We hear it a lot at work. And usually it means something has been completed successfully, there’s no more work to be done on it. Let’s hear some examples.

Examples

The dispute between me and the council about my parking ticket has been resolved. It’s done and dusted.

After two months of hard work, the project is finally done and dusted.

About this logo design… as far as I’m concerned, it’s done and dusted.

Helen Done and dusted is a popular casual expression, it’s used to talk about something that’s finished successfully.

Neil That’s right. And this programme is now done and dusted.

Helen Thanks for listening. Join us next time for more useful English expressions.

Neil Bye.

Helen Bye.