Make Your Home 'Spick-and-Span'
2023-08-20
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language.
3We give definitions, examples, and notes on usage.
4And sometimes we use them in conversations.
5Today, we talk about an expression to describe something, like a home, a vehicle, or an extremely clean object.
6The expression is spick-and-span.
7Word experts are not sure where spick-and-span came from.
8But they agree that the expression was first used in The Diary of Samuel Pepys in 1665: "My Lady Batten walking through the dirty lane with new spick-and-span white shoes..."
9If your shoes are so white and so clean, we can call them spick-and-span.
10We might even say they look brand spanking new.
11If spick-and-span and brand spanking new are too long and you want to use just one word, here is a good one: immaculate. If something is immaculate, it is completely and totally clean.
12It is spotless, meaning it does not have one single imperfection, bad mark, or blemish.
13Our living spaces as well as our appearance and our clothes can be called immaculate.
14However, spick-and-span is commonly used to describe spaces.
15And an American company even smartly named their cleaning product Spic and Span.
16That is "spic" without the letter "k."
17As far as usage, spick-and-span, immaculate, and spotless can be used in any situation.
18Brand spanking new is a bit more casual.
19Now, let's hear the expression spick-and-span used in a couple of examples.
20After the birthday party, my house was a disaster.
21So, I spent hours cleaning it, and by the end of the day, it was spick-and-span.
22You couldn't even tell there had been a party!
23My co-worker wants everything to be immaculate.
24Even if I think the office is spick-and-span, she will still find something else to clean.
25And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
26Practice using the expression spick-and-span the next time you want to describe something very clean.
27Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language. We give definitions, examples, and notes on usage. And sometimes we use them in conversations. 3Today, we talk about an expression to describe something, like a home, a vehicle, or an extremely clean object. The expression is spick-and-span. 4Word experts are not sure where spick-and-span came from. But they agree that the expression was first used in The Diary of Samuel Pepys in 1665: "My Lady Batten walking through the dirty lane with new spick-and-span white shoes..." 5If your shoes are so white and so clean, we can call them spick-and-span. We might even say they look brand spanking new. 6If spick-and-span and brand spanking new are too long and you want to use just one word, here is a good one: immaculate. If something is immaculate, it is completely and totally clean. It is spotless, meaning it does not have one single imperfection, bad mark, or blemish. 7Our living spaces as well as our appearance and our clothes can be called immaculate. However, spick-and-span is commonly used to describe spaces. And an American company even smartly named their cleaning product Spic and Span. That is "spic" without the letter "k." 8As far as usage, spick-and-span, immaculate, and spotless can be used in any situation. Brand spanking new is a bit more casual. 9Now, let's hear the expression spick-and-span used in a couple of examples. 10After the birthday party, my house was a disaster. So, I spent hours cleaning it, and by the end of the day, it was spick-and-span. You couldn't even tell there had been a party! 11My co-worker wants everything to be immaculate. Even if I think the office is spick-and-span, she will still find something else to clean. 12And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. 13Practice using the expression spick-and-span the next time you want to describe something very clean. 14Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 15Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 16__________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18blemish - n. a mark that makes something imperfect 19casual - adj. suited for ordinary or everyday use 20__________________________________________________ 21We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 22We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 23Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.