spit and polish

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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.

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OTHER WORDS FROM spit and polish

spit-and-polish

[spit-n-pol-ish], /ˈspɪt nˈpɒl ɪʃ/, adjective

Words nearby spit and polish

spiry, spissatus, spissitude, spit, spital, spit and polish, spitball, spitballer, spitchcock, spit curl, spite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use spit and polish 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
“Gronkowski” itself never manages to sound more erotic than the name of a hearty Polish stew or a D-list WWE performer.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 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
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
Many gallants 'took' their tobacco in the lords room over the stage, and went out to (Saint) Paul's to spit there privately.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
When used by gentlemen it was common to carry a silver basin to spit in.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for spit and polish

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with spit and polish

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]

spit and polish

OTHER WORDS FROM spit and polish

Words nearby spit and polish

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How to use spit and polish in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spit and polish

Other Idioms and Phrases with spit and polish