dolfijn
spic and span means clean in dutch. It's the name of an old cleaning product.
bwolk
These are ancient words. "spic" or "spick" means spike and "span" means chip. the origional saying was "spic and span new" meaning with bright nails or spikes and freshly shaped wood. sir thomas north's version of PLUTARCH'S LIVES in 1579 reads: "they were all in goodly gilt armours, and brave purple cassocks upon them, spicke, and spanne newe".
eye hope this has been helpful 4 u.
vhawkins
From the "Longman Dictionay of English Idioms":
spick and span
(not formal, rather old fashioned; adjective)
clean and neat, as if very new: "Everything in her house is always spick and span."
Originally from "spick and span new," referring to something newly built, such as a ship, in which every spick (nail) and span (piece of wood) was new
panzacchi rita
"Spic and Span" was an italian floor cleanser with a big picture of a
black and white floor on it.We know U (in the States) use it to describe
a couple composed by a portorican and a latin-american or afro-american.
Spic: latin-american;spanish; long ago for italian. Span: spanish .This
is our dictionary definition.
