Out-and-out Meaning

Example :   He is an out-and-out idiot.  out-and-out lie1998, Douglas Adams, speech at Cambridge, UK. [1]  I'm sure most of the people in this room will share the same view, but even as an out-and-out atheist one can't help noticing that the role of a god has had an enormously profound impact on human history over many, many centuries.  For my own part I would sooner eat bread-and-cheese and know myself the possessor of an out-and-out horse, than sell him for the privilege of dining with the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen every day in the year.1840, The Sporting Magazine, May 1840, Vol XXI Second Series