SINCE 1828
spit and polish
nounDefinition of spit and polish
: extreme attention to cleanliness, orderliness, smartness of appearance, and ceremony often at the expense of operational efficiency
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Learn More about spit and polish
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
10 Common Words with Military Origins
10 Common Words with Military Origins
'Skedaddle', 'ginormous', and more
Dictionary Entries near spit and polish
Statistics for spit and polish
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for spit and polish
The first known use of spit and polish was in 1895
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on spit and polish
What made you want to look up spit and polish? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
What did you just call me?! A Quiz
-
- If a member of the audience describes your speech as bombastic, does that person mean it is:
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Share spit and polish
Resources for spit and polish