See Also: spick and span(dictionary)
spick-span(dictionary)
spick and span(dictionary)
spick(4)(dictionary)
spick(3)(dictionary)
spick(1)(dictionary)
spick(2)(dictionary)
span(medicine)
Span(money)
Span(finance)

spick and span (iou)



spick and span adjectival, noun, & adverbial phr. . L16.
[(Shortened from) emphatic extension of SPAN-NEW; 1st elem. is prob. due to synon. Dutch spikspelldernieuw, -splinternieuw lit. 'spike-, splinter-new' (cf. German nagelneu lit. 'nail-new').]
A. adjective. (Freq. with hyphens, esp. when attrib.)
1. Absolutely new or fresh; brand-new; unused. Also more fully spick and span new. L16.
M. Holroyd A brand new spick-and-span school which had recently opened.
2. Particularly neat and clean; trim, smart. M19.
G. Paley In a white shirt and blue-striped tie, spick-and-span, a Sunday-school man. O. A. Burns It had never been a spic-and-span house. Granny wasn't much for cleaning.
B. noun. That which is spick and span. rare. M18.
C. adverb. In a spick and span manner; smartly, neatly. rare. E19.
spick-and-spanness [-n-n-] noun E20.