spic and span

spick and span

Totally clean and/or organized. I plan to spend the day cleaning so that this place is spick and span when my mother-in-law arrives.

See also: and, span

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

spic and span

Neat and clean. A “spick” was a nail (as in “spike”), “span” was a wood shaving, and a new wooden object had shiny spicks in it and fresh spans around it. Over the years the meaning of newness was replaced by that of something fresh and clean (as a new object usually was).

See also: and, span, spic

Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price