such and such

or such-and-such

adjective

1. definite or particular, but not named or specified:

   They turned out to be such and such kind of people.

noun

1. something or someone not specified:

   if such and such should happen.

Word History and Origins

Origin of such and such¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Idioms and Phrases

Not specified, unnamed and undetermined, as in They agreed to meet at such and such a time and place . [Mid-1500s]

Example Sentences

These soft deadlines said the governor of the state should certify by such and such a date in the middle of December.

From Slate

He often describes people he rates highly as "capable"; uses the phrase "I always say to people" constantly; says of laudable figures that such and such person "was and is" admirable; and leans on tropes such as, you can look at politics in terms of right and left, or in terms of right and wrong.

From BBC

Watching the conversation between Taylor and Smith, Pelt made a resolution: “After wondering how come somebody hasn’t done such and such, I said, you know what? I’m going to go ahead and do it.”

From New York Times

Well, in this Michigan case such and such happens, so therefore for our variation of it, based on what was found in that case, we’re going to do this.

From Slate

He might write, “Here’s a good example of such and such, or show me how to pronounce things because some things in the Bible are hard to pronounce. Or he might say, ‘I don’t agree with how you did that, but if that’s your take…’”

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• anonymous
• exotic
• foreign
• nameless
• new
• remote
• strange
• uncharted
• undiscovered
• unexplained
• unexplored
• unfamiliar
• unidentified
• unnamed
• unrecognized