spick and span
Dave Wilton, Wednesday, March 28, 2007
No, the phrase spick and span is not related to the ethnic epithet. It is an adjective meaning perfectly or brand new or a reference to refurbishing or cleaning that restores something to mint condition.
The original form of the adjective was span-new, a form that survived in dialectal speech into the 19th century. The word is from the Old Norse spán-nýr, literally meaning chip new, as in new as a chip just chiseled from a block of wood. From The Lay of Havelok the Dane, c.1300:
Read the rest of the article...Þe cok bigan of him to rewe, and bouthe him cloþes, al spannewe.
(The cook began to pity him, and bought him clothes, all span-new.)
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Copyright 1997-2008, by David Wilton
Copyright 1997-2008, by David Wilton