spick-and-span love

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Immaculately clean; spotless.
  • adjective Brand-new; fresh.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Same as spick-and-span-new.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective idiomatic Clean, spotless; original sense “like new”.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective conspicuously new
  • adjective completely neat and clean

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Short for obsolete spick and span-new : spick, spike (variant of spike) + span-new.]

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Examples

  • I recommend Villa Taghazoute for social fun, l'Auberge for relaxed backpackers it is spick-and-span clean with great views, and Villa Mandala for an artist/writer/businessperson retreat -- or even to get some work done.

    Karin Badt: Surf and Yoga: A New Way to Experience Morocco Karin Badt 2011

  • RACHEL DORNHELM: In the spick-and-span kitchen of Vallejo Fire Station 27, the sweet smell of flavored coffee hangs in the air.

    Fire Stations Cut Services As City Budgets Shrink 2010

  • I recommend Villa Taghazoute for social fun, l'Auberge for relaxed backpackers it is spick-and-span clean with great views, and Villa Mandala for an artist/writer/businessperson retreat -- or even to get some work done.

    Karin Badt: Surf and Yoga: A New Way to Experience Morocco Karin Badt 2011

  • Someone from the health department would knock on my door to make sure my kitchen was spick-and-span, as I sold packaged foods.

    The Love Goddess’ Cooking School Melissa Senate 2010

  • Someone from the health department would knock on my door to make sure my kitchen was spick-and-span, as I sold packaged foods.

    The Love Goddess’ Cooking School Melissa Senate 2010

  • Someone from the health department would knock on my door to make sure my kitchen was spick-and-span, as I sold packaged foods.

    The Love Goddess’ Cooking School Melissa Senate 2010

  • She would not settle for less than spick-and-span.

    La insistencia de Jürgen Fauth 2010

  • This distancing of animals, while imagining ourselves to be safe and clean inside our spick-and-span, chemically cleaned homes is, on one level, darkly comic.

    Archive 2007-06-01 2007

  • This distancing of animals, while imagining ourselves to be safe and clean inside our spick-and-span, chemically cleaned homes is, on one level, darkly comic.

    Kitteh Urbanism 2007

  • When I visited AOL's spick-and-span headquarters near Dulles Airport last week, on dozens of walls and cubicles I saw bumper stickers that read members rule.

    Can 8.0 Save The Chat Room? 2007

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