spit and polish
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spit and polish
Maintenance of and close attention to the cleanliness and orderliness of something. Sure, it needs some spit and polish, but it's still a reliable truck! Our manager demands spit and polish whenever we clean up the kitchen at the end of the night.
spit and polish
orderliness; ceremonial precision and orderliness. I like spit and polish. It comes from being in the military. There is no such thing as too much spit and polish.
spit and polish
Close attention to appearance and order, as in With a little spit and polish this house will sell very quickly. This expression originated in the military, presumably alluding to literally shining up something with the aid of a little saliva. There it also came to mean "too much attention to appearance, and not enough to more important concerns," as in The commander is so concerned with spit and polish that he overlooks the crew's morale. [Late 1800s]
spit and polish
Spit and polish is the process of making a place or person very clean. There is a bit of spit and polish involved. Boots have to be clean and shining.
spit and polish
extreme neatness or smartness.spit and ˈpolish
(informal) cleaning and polishing: This table will look as good as new with a bit of spit and polish.spit and polish
n. orderliness; ceremonial precision and orderliness. (Alludes to carefully polishing shoes to a high level of shine.) I like spit and polish. It comes from being in the military.
spit and polish
Great care for a spotless and smart appearance. The term originated in the armed services, where spit might literally be used for a hasty cleaning for an unexpected inspection. The term also came to mean more attention to appearances than to actual working order or efficiency, so that by World War I, “Spit and polish! We’re winning the war,” was a sarcastic expression applied by those in the front lines to the concerns of career officers sitting behind desks in the war office.