spit and polish
noun
great care in maintaining smart appearance and crisp efficiency: The commander was concerned more with spit and polish than with the company's morale.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
cleanliness, discipline, neatness, punctilio, regimentation, tidiness, fastidiousness, meticulousness, orderliness
Nearby words
- spiruroidea,
- spiry,
- spissatus,
- spissitude,
- spit,
- spit curl,
- spit in the ocean,
- spit take,
- spit up,
- spit-shine
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for spit and polish
He stood five-eight, and his red and gold Space Service uniform gleamed with spit-and-polish luster.
Unwise Child|Gordon Randall Garrett
spit and polish
noun
informal punctilious attention to neatness, discipline, etc, esp in the armed forces
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
spit and polish
Close attention to appearance and order, as in With a little spit and polish this house will sell very quickly. This expression originated in the military, presumably alluding to literally shining up something with the aid of a little saliva. There it also came to mean “too much attention to appearance, and not enough to more important concerns,” as in The commander is so concerned with spit and polish that he overlooks the crew's morale. [Late 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.