Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—S

Slap-up

Prime slap-up or slap-bang up. Very exquisite or dashing. Here slap is a playful synonym of dashing, and “up” is the Latin super, as in “superfine.” The dress of a dandy or the equipage of an exquisite is “slap-up,” “prime slap-up,” or “slap-bang-up.”

“[The] more slap-up still have the shields painted on the panels with the coronet over.” —Thackeray.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Slate
Slap-dash
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