Spick and Span New
Preserved but no longer current.
Quite and entirely new. A spic is a spike or nail, and a span is a chip. So ^that a spick and span new ship is one m which every nail and chip is new. According to Dr. Johnson, who, in recording the term says it is one which he "should not have expected to have found authorized by a polite writer," span new is from A.S.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Spick and Span New” mean?
Quite and entirely new. A spic is a spike or nail, and a span is a chip. So ^that a spick and span new ship is one m which every nail and chip is new. According to Dr. Johnson, who, in recording the term says it is one which he "should not have expected to have found authorized by a polite writer," span new is from A.S.
Is “Spick and Span New” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.