spick-and-span

See also: spick and span

EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

Originally from “new as new woodchips”

From spick-and-span-new (literally “new as a recently made spike and chip of wood”) (1570s), from spick (“nail”, variant of spike) + Middle English span-new (“very new”) (from circa 1300 until 1800s), from Old Norse span-nyr, from spann (“chip”) (cognate to Old English spón, English spoon, due to old spoons being made of wood) + nyr (“new”) (cognate to Old English nīewe, English new).^[1] Imitation of Dutch spiksplinternieuw (literally “spike-splinter new”)^[2], for a freshly built ship. Observe that fresh woodchips are firm and light (if from light wood), but decay and darken rapidly, hence the origin of the term.

PronunciationEdit

Audio (AU) (file)

AdjectiveEdit

spick-and-span (comparative more spick-and-span, superlative most spick-and-span)

(idiomatic) Clean, spotless; original sense “like new”.
I mopped up the kitchen floor so it was spick-and-span.
- 1614, Ben Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, Act 3 Scene 5 Lines 42-44:
  NIGHTINGALE (showing one of his ballads) Sir this is a spell against 'em, spick and span new, and 'tis made, as 'twere, in mine own person, and I sing it in mine own defense.
- 1643 John Taylor, A preter-pluperfect, spick and span new nocturnall, or Mercuries weekly night-newes, Wherein the publique Faith is published, and the Banquet of Oxford Mice described (title)
- 1665, Samuel Pepys, diary, 15 November 1665:
  My Lady Batten walking through the dirty lane with new spicke and span white shoes.
- 1942 March, “Notes and News: Locomotive Notes”, in Railway Magazine, page 93:
  The "V4" 2-6-2 Bantam Cock is now stationed at Norwich, and its spick-and-span condition does credit to the cleaners at that shed.

SynonymsEdit

See also Thesaurus:clean

TranslationsEdit

clean, spotless

Arabic: جديد‎ (ar)
Dutch: spik en span
Finnish: putipuhdas (fi)
German: blitzblank (de), picobello (de)
Hungarian: patyolattiszta (hu)
Irish: pioctha péacadh

ReferencesEdit

^ Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “spick-and-span”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
^ The term "spickspelder nieuwe deuntjes" was used to refer to "brand-new tunes" in a Dutch songbook published in 1630.