Spick
and Span: All spick and span describes a neat and tidy situation.
Originally it had an implication of newness and was Spick and Span new.
Spick was a spike or nail and Span a wood chip. The expression was
first used of wooden ships fresh from the shipyard.
Splash out: To 'splash out' on something is an expression used, at
least in the UK, to indicate that something extravagant has been done,
or is planned. "I'm going to splash out on a new car/pair of
shoes/birthday party, etc". Why 'splash out'? It seems an odd way of
saying this. This was debated on the SHU Phrase message board. The
following was posted by 'Smokey Stover'.
“To 'make a splash' is common to the U.K. and U.S., and although
perhaps a bit dated is still in use. The OED records its appearance in
print as early as 1804.
To 'splash out,' in the sense of spending money freely, even
ostentatiously, is a shade less obvious (because of the 'out').
'Splashing money around' was in common usage in the last century, but
'splashing out' (tossing the money about, sometimes on something in
particular) seems to be an Anglicism."
Thus, the origin seems to be an analogy to splashing water about in an
uncritical way, just to enjoy the thrill of doing it.
Spoils: Since Spoils of War are valuable and not "spoilt" in the modern
sense the use of this word seems out of place until one realises that
Spoils used this way comes from the Latin "spolium" meaning a "hide
stripped from an animal". Thus anything stripped from a country as a
result of war became Spoils. The word was used in this sense as far
back as 1300. The more common use of spoil in the sense of "ruined"
comes from the rotting carcass left after the hide was stripped.
Spoke: If someone puts a spoke in your wheel then they are trying to
prevent your success in a venture. The saying goes back to the days of
medieval carts, where the wheels were solid. The front wheels did,
however, have three holes in them to act as a primitive form of brake.
The carter carried a strong wooden stick which he pushed into the holes
to slow the cart when going downhill. The stick was called a Spoke. The
analogy is clear.
Spoon. To get the wooden spoon is now a prize for finishing last in a
sporting event or other competition. It derives from a Cambridge
University custom of presenting such a spoon to the person last in the
Maths Tripos. In 1811 there were three classes of Honours degree; the
first were called Wranglers and were said to be born with golden spoons
in their mouths. The second were Senior Optimes and had silver spoons
in their mouths. The third type were Junior Optimes and were born with
lead spoons; the last Junior Optime was called the Wooden spoon. Those
without Honours were either meritorious, in the Gulf, or just one of
the Many.
Spots: To knock spots off someone is to beat them easily. This saying
arose in 19th century USA and is based on shooting competitions.
Marksmen were tested for their skill by their ability to knock spots
off playing cards.
Spout: If you're up the spout then you are in trouble; you have
problems. The Spout in this saying is the lift found in pawnbrokers'
premises. Pawned goods were placed on the spout and sent away for
storage until they were redeemed, or not, as the case may be. They were
certainly at risk of never being reclaimed.
Spruce: All spruced up means dressed to the nines; all spick and span.
Spruced is an Anglicised version of Prusse, the French name for
Prussia. Prussian troops were always regarded as being particularly
smart.
Spurs: to gain one's spurs means to show a special ability or gain fame
for the first time. This comes from the times when a soldier was given
a knighthood; the King would also give him a pair of golden spurs.
Square: A square meal implies an especially generous helping of food.
This is said by some to be naval in origin. Sailors used to eat off
wooden boards; these were square in shape and were
usually not filled with food. However, after a heavy watch the sailors
were given a large meal which filled the square board - a
square meal. Often these plates would have a raised rim,
called a 'fiddle', giving rise to the saying 'on the fiddle' - see
'Fiddle'. I’m told that an example of a square plate is in the museum
at Chatham Naval Dockyard.
However neat and romantic the explanation sounds, it's sadly not backed
up by historical documentation! Square in this case relates to a long
established use of the word implying that things are correct and exact
as things containing right angles. 'All fair and square' and 'square
deal' have this meaning. 'Square meal' was originally American.
According to Michael Quinion's World Wide Words, early examples seem to
have come out of miners’ slang from the western side of the country.
Mark Twain, in The Innocents Abroad, refers to it as a Californian
expression. The oldest example MQ found appeared in the Morning
Oregonian of Portland, Oregon, in 1862, about a hotel that had opened in the
town: "If you want a good square meal and a clean bed to sleep in, give
Mr Lee a call."
If
something is all fair and square then it is regarded as being honest;
above board; correct. I can't find a recorded origin for this one but
there is almost certainly an element of rhyme in its basis. The square
could well be something to do with the sails on a sailing ship were set
and the fair added for effect. A better explanation for 'square' is
given above.
To
stand four (?fore) square behind someone means that you support them to
the bitter end. This saying must have the same sort of basis as the one
above but, again, no reference that I can find.
Back
to square one means to start again from the beginning. The origin could
well go back to the days of early BBC radio soccer commentaries. The
Radio Times used to publish a plan of the pitch. This plan was divided
up into numbered squares; the squares were referred to by the
commentators to help listeners have a better idea where the ball was.
The goalkeeper's number was "number one". If the ball were passed back
to him, then it was back to square one and the game had to start again
from there. However, in February 2006 the BBCtv programme
'Balderdash & Piffle' showed that a search of the of the BBC's
sound archive produced no record of the 'back to....'
version; all say something like ' the ball is now in square one'.
The earliest documented use of the expression is in 1952 and relates to
Snakes & Ladders. However, no British version of this game
shows a snake ending on square one, although the original Indian one
does. Thus, the origin is still unclear. I prefer the BBC one.
