Meanings
- archaiccolloquialNeat, fine, very good.
My silk stockings and two pairs of spandy gloves are my comfort. You are a dear, to lend me yours, Jo
1869, Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, page 1261 more example
O, poor dandy, once so spandy, Golden dancer on the lea! Older growing, white hair flowing, Bald head dandy now is he.
1894, Lizzie Tristram, Nameless Stories for Supplemental Reading and General Exercises, page 14
- archaiccolloquialoftenEntirely, nicely, very.
I have heard of a ghost that always came in a new coat, smartly buttoned up, and a spandy clean dickey.
1838, Timo. Titterwell [Samuel Kettel], “Thoughts on seeing ghosts”, in Yankee Notions, page 1152 more examples
O, I forgot, the woman was wicked and she made her little girls sit in the parlor, all dressed up spandy clean, and she made Cindrilla sit in the coal-hod.
1891, Sophie May, Little Prudy, page 111“It means always celebrating New Year with new things – every single Tilley person.” “Spandy new,” offered Jeffery, helpfully. “The newest ever.”
1921 January 1, Annie Hamilton Donnell, “The Tilley Celebration”, in The Sunday School Times, page 4
Origin
Uncertain. Perhaps a variant of spander-new, or from spick-and-span, both attested from the 17th century, while spandy clean appears in 1838 (see quotations below). Both spander-new and spick-and-span come from earlier span-new, which is attested from c. 1300.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
spandy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spandy
“spandy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spandy. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spandy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spandy.
Source: spandy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.