shipshape and Bristol fashion
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shipshape and Bristol fashion
- /ˈʃɪpʃeɪp n̩ ˌbɹɪstəl ˈfæʃn̩/ UK
- /ˈʃɪpˌʃeɪp n̩ ˌbɹɪstəl ˈfæʃən/ US
Rhymes with -æʃən
Where it comes from
As regards the adjective, Bristol was the most prosperous port of west-coast Britain, and its shipping was regarded as maintained at a high quality.
The adverb is probably derived from the adjective as it is first attested slightly later.
adjective Bristol fashion and shipshape · ship-shape and Bristol-fashion
- Of a vessel: tidy, and with its equipment in good order, properly stowed, etc.; shipshape. It was there I first got alongside of Moll [a ship]. She is as pretty a girl as ever stepped between the stem and stern of a vessel. And to see her upon a lee-shore! It made me change colour in the face like a dolphin. "My box of diamonds," says I to the girl, "this is neither ship-shape, nor Bristo
-
Neatly and properly arranged or organized; neat and tidy, tidy.
He must be a little dictator. In all well-run businesses there is such a man. In the Secret Service, it is Paymaster Captain Troop, RN Retired, Head of Admin., whose job it is, in his own words, ‘to keep the place shipshape and Bristol fashion’.
Similar: all Sir Garnet, squared away, Bristol fashion and shipshape, in order, neat, neat and tidy, neat as a new pin, neat as a pin, nice as ninepence, orderly, prest, regular · Opposite: chaotic, cluttered, disorderly, messy, ree-raw, riotous, sluttish, tempestuous, tumultuary, tumultuous, turbulent, untidy
adverb
- In a neat and tidy, or proper, manner; properly, tidily. It is often the custom of men-of-war's men, when they deem anything to be going on wrong aboard ship, to refer to last cruise, when of course everything was done shipshape and Bristol fashion.
Talk about this word "shipshape and Bristol fashion." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shipshape%20and%20bristol%20fashion. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. shipshape and Bristol fashion. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shipshape%20and%20bristol%20fashion "shipshape and Bristol fashion." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shipshape%20and%20bristol%20fashion.Cite this
@misc{shipshape_and_bristol_fashion_2026,
title = {shipshape and Bristol fashion},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shipshape%20and%20bristol%20fashion},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
