spic
Synonym of Latino, an inhabitant of Latin America or person of Latin American descentSynonym of Latino, an inhabitant of Latin America or person of Latin American descent.
» The flat was spic and span.
Die Wohnung war picobello.
Meaning
2 senses(US, derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slur)Synonym of Latino, an inhabitant of Latin America or person of Latin American descent.
(ethnic slur) offensive term for persons of Latin American descent
(US, ethnic, slur, uncommon)Synonym of Italian, an inhabitant of Italy or person of Italian descent.
Examples
2 sentencesThe flat was spic and span.
deDie Wohnung war picobello.
The kitchen is spic and span.
Origin
First attested in this spelling in the 1910s, from earlier spig, spiggoty, spikity, generaFirst attested in this spelling in the 1910s, from earlier spig, spiggoty, spikity, generally taken to derive from a (stereotype of a) Hispanic pronunciation of "(no) speak d(e) English" (especially as used by the laborers who dug the Panama Canal). There are also later (1960s) suggestions that the term referred instead to Italians and derives from spaghetti, but there is little to back this up.
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