Word OriginOld English, ‘distance between the tips of the thumb and little finger’, of Germanic origin; reinforced in Middle English by Old French espan.
Idioms
See span in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryspick and span
(also spic and span)
- [not usually before noun] neat and clean
- Their house is always spick and span.
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spick and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
Check pronunciation:
span