spick-and-span

American  

[spik-uhn-span] / ˈspɪk ənˈspæn /

adjective

1. spotlessly clean and neat.

   a spick-and-span kitchen.

2. perfectly new; fresh.

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adverb

1. in a spick-and-span manner.

spick-and-span British  

/ ˈspɪkənˈspæn /

adjective

1. extremely neat and clean

2. new and fresh

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spick and span Idioms  

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of spick-and-span

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

Related Words

• clean
• clean and tidy