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- Dictionaryspick and span/spɪk(ə)ndˈspan/
adjective
- 1. neat, clean, and well looked after: "my little house is spick and span"
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I expect to find everything spick and span when I get home. We knew we had to keep the kitchen spick and span at all times . A team of gardeners keeps the park spick and span all year round.
The meaning of SPICK-AND-SPAN is fresh, brand-new. How to use spick-and-span in a sentence.
What's the meaning of the phrase 'Spick and span'? ‘Spick and span’ is entirely clean – fresh or unused. What's the origin of the phrase 'Spick and span'?
To begin with, “spick and span” refers to something that is clean or neat in appearance. It can be used to describe a person’s attire or a room’s cleanliness. The origins of this phrase are unclear; however, it has been in use since at least the 17th century.
This term combines two nouns that are now obsolete, spick , “a nail” or “spike,” and span , “a wooden chip.” In the 1500s a sailing ship was considered spick and span when every spike and chip was brand-new.
adjective. extremely neat and clean. The apartment was spick and span. She had found Ann dusting the furniture, making sure her home was spick and span. In the mornings she was spick and span, blouse buttoned, lipstick in place, exuding a determined air of efficiency. He had to keep the loos spick and span.
From spick-and-span-new (literally “new as a recently made spike and chip of wood" ) (1570s), from spick (“nail" ) (variant of spike) + Middle English span-new (“very new" ) (from circa 1300 until 1800s), from Old Norse span-nyr, from spann (“chip" ) (cognate to Old English spón, Modern English spoon, due to old spoons being made of ...
