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spick-and-span — adjective 1. conspicuously new shiny brand new shoes a spick and span novelty • Syn: ↑brand new, ↑bran new, ↑spic and span • Similar to: ↑new … Useful english dictionary
Spic and Span — is a major U.S. brand of all purpose household cleanser, invented by housewives Elizabeth Bet MacDonald and Naomi Stenglein in Saginaw, Michigan in 1933. The women experimented until they came up with a formula that included equal parts of ground … Wikipedia
spic-and-span — adjective 1. conspicuously new shiny brand new shoes a spick and span novelty • Syn: ↑brand new, ↑bran new, ↑spick and span • Similar to: ↑new … Useful english dictionary
spick-and-span — /spik euhn span /, adj. 1. spotlessly clean and neat: a spick and span kitchen. 2. perfectly new; fresh. adv. 3. in a spick and span manner. [1570 80; short for spick and span new, alliterative extension of SPAN NEW] * * * … Universalium
spick-and-span — [spik′ n span′] adj. [short for spick and span new < spick, var. of SPIKE1 + SPAN NEW < ME spon neowe < ON spān nȳr < spānn, a chip, shaving + nȳr,NEW] 1. new or fresh 2. neat and clean … English World dictionary
spic-and-span — 1660s, from spick and span new (1570s), lit. new as a recently made spike and chip of wood, from spick nail (see SPIKE (Cf. spike) (n.1)) + span new very new (c.1300), from O.N. span nyr, from spann chip + nyr new. Imitation of … Etymology dictionary
spick and span — (also spic and span) adjective neat, clean, and well looked after. Origin C16 (in the sense brand new ): from spick and span new, emphatic extension of dialect span new, from ON spán nýr, from spánn chip + nýr new ; spick influenced by Du.… … English new terms dictionary
spick-and-span — /spɪk ən ˈspæn / (say spik uhn span) adjective 1. neat and clean. 2. perfectly new; fresh. Also, spick and span. {shortened form of spick and span new, variant of span new, from Old Norse spānnȳr, literally, chip new, that is, just cut from… …
spick and span — If a room is spick and span, it is very clean and tidy. (Dorking School Dictionary) *** To refer to something, usually a place, as spick and span means that it is very clean, neat and tidy. The apartment must be spick and span… … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
spick and span — spic and span [ˌspık ən ˈspæn] adj [not before noun] informal a room, house etc that is spick and span is completely clean and tidy … Dictionary of contemporary English