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spick-and-span

Clean, spotless; original sense "like new".

Etymology:

  • From spick-and-span-new, from spick + Middle English span-new, from Old Norse span-nyr, from spann + nyr. Imitation of Dutch spiksplinter nieuw , for a freshly built ship. Observe that fresh woodchips are firm and light, but decay and darken rapidly, hence the origin of the term.
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“

I mopped up the kitchen floor so it was spick-and-span.

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Submitted on July 07, 2010

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to spick-and-span

spit-and-polishspeak of the devil and he appearsso-and-sosquad and blathersong and danceSpare the Rod and Spoil the Childso-and-sostop and gostraight and narrowstop an eight-day clock and throw it in…stand up and be countedspeak of the devil and he shall appearspeak softly and carry a big sticksticks and stones

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    "spick-and-span." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/spick-and-span_15036>.

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