spick-and-span

[ spik-uhn-span ]

/ ˈspɪk ənˈspæn /

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See synonyms for spick-and-span on Thesaurus.com

adjective

spotlessly clean and neat: a spick-and-span kitchen.

perfectly new; fresh.

adverb

in a spick-and-span manner.

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Origin of spick-and-span

1570–80; short for spick-and-span-new, alliterative extension of span-new

Words nearby spick-and-span

spicebush, spicebush swallowtail, Spice Islands, spicery, spicewood, spick-and-span, spicula, spiculate, spiculation, spicule, spiculum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spick-and-span in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Later that night, that same black-and-red banner would be seen again—in the column of marchers chanting for dead cops.
The Monsters Who Screamed for Dead Cops|Jacob Siegel|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The kids are out of school, Mom is out of get-up-and-go, Dad is out of work.
Congress’ Gift That Keeps on Giving|P. J. O’Rourke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Mr. Spurrell came down to see a horse, and we shall be very glad to have the benefit of his opinion by-and-by.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
Messrs. Spick and Span's representative was wounded in his tenderest point, but his firm carried out the order to the letter.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Part of that idea was sham bric-à-brac, the rest was carte blanche to Messrs. Spick and Span.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills

British Dictionary definitions for spick-and-span

spick-and-span

spic-and-span

/ (ˈspɪkənˈspæn) /

adjective

extremely neat and clean

new and fresh

Word Origin for spick-and-span

C17: shortened from spick-and-span-new, from obsolete spick spike, nail + span-new

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with spick-and-span

spick and span

Neat and clean, as in When Ruth has finished cleaning, the whole house is spick and span. 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. The transfer to the current sense took place in the mid-1800s.

spick-and-span

Origin of spick-and-span

Words nearby spick-and-span

Words related to spick-and-span

How to use spick-and-span in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spick-and-span

spic-and-span

Word Origin for spick-and-span

Other Idioms and Phrases with spick-and-span