spick-and-span

[ spik-uhn-span ]

adjective

1. spotlessly clean and neat:

   a spick-and-span kitchen.

2. perfectly new; fresh.

adverb

1. in a spick-and-span manner.

spick-and-span

/ ˈspɪkənˈspæn /

adjective

1. extremely neat and clean
2. new and fresh

Word History and Origins

Origin of spick-and-span¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of spick-and-span¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Related Words

• clean
• clean and tidy