See spick-and-span in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for spick-and-span meaning in English (6.1kB)
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "spick-and-span-new",
"3": "",
"lit": "new as a recently made spike and chip of wood"
},
"expansion": "spick-and-span-new (literally “new as a recently made spike and chip of wood”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "spike"
},
"expansion": "spike",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "spick",
"3": "",
"4": "nail",
"pos": "variant of <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"en\">spike</i>"
},
"expansion": "spick (“nail”, variant of spike)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "span-new",
"4": "",
"5": "very new"
},
"expansion": "Middle English span-new (“very new”)",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "non",
"3": "span-nyr"
},
"expansion": "Old Norse span-nyr",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "non",
"2": "spann",
"3": "",
"4": "chip"
},
"expansion": "spann (“chip”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "spon",
"3": "spón"
},
"expansion": "Old English spón",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "spoon"
},
"expansion": "English spoon",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "non",
"2": "nyr",
"3": "",
"4": "new"
},
"expansion": "nyr (“new”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "nīewe"
},
"expansion": "Old English nīewe",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "new"
},
"expansion": "English new",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "spiksplinternieuw",
"3": "",
"lit": "spike-splinter new"
},
"expansion": "Dutch spiksplinternieuw (literally “spike-splinter new”)",
"name": "ncog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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 spoons once being made of wood) + nyr (“new”) (cognate to Old English nīewe, English new). Imitation of Dutch spiksplinternieuw (literally “spike-splinter new”), 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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "more spick-and-span",
"tags": [
"comparative"
]
},
{
"form": "most spick-and-span",
"tags": [
"superlative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "spick-and-span (comparative more spick-and-span, superlative most spick-and-span)",
"name": "en-adj"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "adj",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English coordinated pairs",
"parents": [
"Coordinated pairs",
"Terms by etymology"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
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"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
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"source": "w"
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{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"parents": [
"Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Old English links with redundant target parameters",
"parents": [
"Links with redundant target parameters",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Hygiene",
"orig": "en:Hygiene",
"parents": [
"Health",
"Body",
"Human",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "I mopped up the kitchen floor so it was spick-and-span.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1898, Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol",
"text": "The Warders strutted up and down, / And kept their herd of brutes, / Their uniforms were spick and span, / And they wore their Sunday suits, / But we knew the work they had been at, / By the quicklime on their boots.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1922, Christopher Morley, Where the Blue Begins",
"text": "Mr. and Mrs. Chow, for instance, drew up one afternoon in their spick-and-span coupe with their intolerably spotless only child sitting self-consciously beside them.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1942 March, “Notes and News: Locomotive Notes”, in Railway Magazine, page 93",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014 February 18, XoXo, BOOK WORM_98, “My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak—review”, in The Guardian, →ISSN",
"text": "From a spick and span penthouse in New York, to a ranch in Colorado, from a posh boarding school to public school, and from having virtually no boys in her life to having 12!",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Clean, spotless."
],
"id": "en-spick-and-span-en-adj-0QtzJBVa",
"links": [
[
"Clean",
"clean"
],
[
"spotless",
"spotless"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) Clean, spotless."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "spick"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "clean"
},
{
"word": "spic and span"
},
{
"word": "spick and span"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "جديد"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "spik en span"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "putipuhdas"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "blitzblank"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "picobello"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "patyolattiszta"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "pioctha péacadh"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-spick-and-span.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/40/En-au-spick-and-span.ogg/En-au-spick-and-span.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/En-au-spick-and-span.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "spick-and-span"
}
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "spick-and-span-new",
"3": "",
"lit": "new as a recently made spike and chip of wood"
},
"expansion": "spick-and-span-new (literally “new as a recently made spike and chip of wood”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "spike"
},
"expansion": "spike",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "spick",
"3": "",
"4": "nail",
"pos": "variant of <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"en\">spike</i>"
},
"expansion": "spick (“nail”, variant of spike)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "span-new",
"4": "",
"5": "very new"
},
"expansion": "Middle English span-new (“very new”)",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "non",
"3": "span-nyr"
},
"expansion": "Old Norse span-nyr",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "non",
"2": "spann",
"3": "",
"4": "chip"
},
"expansion": "spann (“chip”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "spon",
"3": "spón"
},
"expansion": "Old English spón",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "spoon"
},
"expansion": "English spoon",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "non",
"2": "nyr",
"3": "",
"4": "new"
},
"expansion": "nyr (“new”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "nīewe"
},
"expansion": "Old English nīewe",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "new"
},
"expansion": "English new",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "spiksplinternieuw",
"3": "",
"lit": "spike-splinter new"
},
"expansion": "Dutch spiksplinternieuw (literally “spike-splinter new”)",
"name": "ncog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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 spoons once being made of wood) + nyr (“new”) (cognate to Old English nīewe, English new). Imitation of Dutch spiksplinternieuw (literally “spike-splinter new”), 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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "more spick-and-span",
"tags": [
"comparative"
]
},
{
"form": "most spick-and-span",
"tags": [
"superlative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "spick-and-span (comparative more spick-and-span, superlative most spick-and-span)",
"name": "en-adj"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "adj",
"related": [
{
"word": "spick"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English adjectives",
"English alliterative phrases",
"English coordinated pairs",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"English idioms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English terms derived from Middle English",
"English terms derived from Old Norse",
"English terms inherited from Middle English",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples",
"Old English links with redundant target parameters",
"en:Hygiene"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "I mopped up the kitchen floor so it was spick-and-span.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1898, Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol",
"text": "The Warders strutted up and down, / And kept their herd of brutes, / Their uniforms were spick and span, / And they wore their Sunday suits, / But we knew the work they had been at, / By the quicklime on their boots.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1922, Christopher Morley, Where the Blue Begins",
"text": "Mr. and Mrs. Chow, for instance, drew up one afternoon in their spick-and-span coupe with their intolerably spotless only child sitting self-consciously beside them.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1942 March, “Notes and News: Locomotive Notes”, in Railway Magazine, page 93",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014 February 18, XoXo, BOOK WORM_98, “My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak—review”, in The Guardian, →ISSN",
"text": "From a spick and span penthouse in New York, to a ranch in Colorado, from a posh boarding school to public school, and from having virtually no boys in her life to having 12!",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Clean, spotless."
],
"links": [
[
"Clean",
"clean"
],
[
"spotless",
"spotless"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) Clean, spotless."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "clean"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-spick-and-span.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/40/En-au-spick-and-span.ogg/En-au-spick-and-span.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/En-au-spick-and-span.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "spic and span"
},
{
"word": "spick and span"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "جديد"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "spik en span"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "putipuhdas"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "blitzblank"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "picobello"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "patyolattiszta"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "clean, spotless",
"word": "pioctha péacadh"
}
],
"word": "spick-and-span"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.