# squeaky clean



## guinguette83

Hello everybody! 

I am looking for an expression in french that is comparable to squeaky clean; really tidy to the verge of being overdone. 
Super-nette maybe? Or is there a better (funnier) translation? I hope that someone can help me out! 

Thanks in advance!


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## Broff

I don't know if the expression:  *'propre comme un sou neuf'* would be an equivalent?


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## Marjorie_Lyon

What I can think of right now is:
- "étincelant de propreté"
- "briqué à mort" (warning: this is a very familiar expression)


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## wildan1

ou peut-être _nickel_


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## Cath.S.

I can't think of a set expression but I might say :

_d'une propreté maladive / obsessionnelle_ (about a person)
_d'une propreté de laboratoire_ (about a place).
_d'une propreté consternante, étouffante, paralysante, stressante, inhumaine._


Edit
You'll get more better,  less subjective  answers.


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## Broff

_



d'une propreté maladive / obsessionnelle (about a person)
d'une propreté de laboratoire (about a place).
		
Click to expand...

 
Squeaky clean is not that serious, I would use those expression to translate:  'Clean Freak'_


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## Cath.S.

Broff said:


> _Squeaky clean is not that serious, I would use those expressions to translate: 'Clean Freak'_


Je me suis laissé emporter par  "_really tidy to the verge of being overdone_". J'avoue que j'ai toujours entendu_ squeaky clean_ comme une critique, _trop propre_.


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## dewsy

For me squeaky clean describes a person who is too good to be true - nothing to do with actual cleanliness, more someone who has never put a foot wrong - une sainte nitouche if I'm not mistaken...


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## Cath.S.

dewsy said:


> For me squeaky clean describes a person who is too good to be true - nothing to do with actual cleanliness, more someone who has never put a foot wrong - une sainte nitouche if I'm not mistaken...


Both literal and figurative meanings exist, but here Guinguette specified her context, and it's about actual cleanliness.


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## sound shift

Like dewsy, I think the meaning of "squeaky clean" is always figurative. You can talk about a kitchen being "spotless" but you can't talk about it being "squeaky clean". A squeaky clean person is one who is correct and conformist, to the point of blandness.

If the context is cleanliness and tidiness, you could say "X is obsessively tidy" or "X is fastidious about cleanliness".


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## Moon Palace

The CED gives the two meanings, and in French we could say 'd'une propreté excessive' or 'd'une propreté de chatte'. But like egueule, I don't think there is a set phrase as in English. (nice to agree, egueule )


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## Velveteen

I tend to like wildan1's response "nickel".  It's simply put.  As for whether it describes a person or the general cleanliness, maybe there is a difference between American and British English.  I'm American and saying that the bathroom is "squeaky clean" does not shock me.  "Spic and span" would be more appropriate though.


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## Moon Palace

'c'est nickel' is nice indeed, but it is colloquial. So it all depends once more on context, and you're the boss here, guinguette83.


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## Cath.S.

Soundshift said:
			
		

> Like dewsy, I think the meaning of "squeaky clean" is always figurative.


It might be one of the numerous BE /AE differences, because many native English speakers use it literally.
Here is one example from the New York Times.
And another one here  http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9783088-1.html
....but there are literally tens of thousands of such instances to be found on the Internet.
By the way, in the NYT article, I would translate it by _impeccable_ in French.

Moon Palace, nous n'avons pas fait voeu de désaccord mutuel, que je sache ?


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## Moon Palace

egueule said:


> Moon Palace, nous n'avons pas fait voeu de désaccord mutuel, que je sache ?



Short answer: no, we haven't. 
But isn't 'squeaky clean' meant to underline the excessive aspect of the cleanliness? BEcause in that case... I beg to disagree  about 'impeccable', which is definitely positive.


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## Cath.S.

Moon Palace said:


> Short answer: no, we haven't.
> But isn't 'squeaky clean' meant to underline the excessive aspect of the cleanliness? BEcause in that case... I beg to disagree  about 'impeccable', which is definitely positive.


The more I read different texts that include the phrase, and also naturally our fellow foreros' opinions, the more convinced I become that both meanings coexist.
Plus the figurative meaning, of course, which appears to always be critical / ironic.


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## Moon Palace

So as usual, context decides... But then, in French we have to choose as we have no really ambiguous phrase. Thanks, egueule.


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## kiwi-di

egueule said:


> The more I read different texts that include the phrase, and also naturally our fellow foreros' opinions, the more convinced I become that both meanings coexist.


When talking about an object, I've usually thought of this in the literal sense.  When I was a little girl and washed my hair, I was always told to rinse it till it squeaked - so I've always thought that was the origin of the expression.  (Even now, I always check that I've got all the shampoo out of my hair by checking its 'squeakiness".  )



> Plus the figurative meaning, of course, which appears to always be critical / ironic.


To my mind, this only applies when talking about a person.   It used to be said that in order to be elected a politician had to be _squeaky clean _(in other words, no skeletons in the closet) - these days the bar doesn't seem to be quite that high.


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## bloomiegirl

For cleanliness, I like "d'une propreté de chatte," which connotes the overdone quality of the cleanliness, without impugning or condemning it.

(Of course this would not work for the squeaky clean politician, but that would be different context.)


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## Nicomon

Broff said:


> I don't know if the expression: *'propre comme un sou neuf'* would be an equivalent?


I say that, or _ça brille comme un sou neuf_ . I believe it to be a close equivalent of _c'est nickel_... which is not common in Montreal. 
_



Propre comme un sou neuf : un sou neuf, n'ayant pas circulé, était brillant, éclatant, non usé, non sali.

Click to expand...

 _I'm less familiar with _squeaky clean_, than _sparkling clean/spotless/"spic and span"_ which is what I would translate by _comme un_ s_ou neuf_ or _étincelant de propreté_, as Marjorie suggested above. I would, however, say _squeaky clean_ about windows, mirrors, dishes that are so clean you can hear a _squeak_ if you touch them. Literally... _grinçant de propreté._ 

In a familiar way, I'd repeat _propre_, or _net._ As in _propre, propre propre._
For other meanings,_ immaculé_ comes to mind. Or for excessiveness... _d'une propreté virginale. _


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## DeSica

_Aveuglante_ de propreté
D'une propreté _maniaque_


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## wildan1

kiwi-di said:


> When talking about an object, I've usually thought of this in the literal sense. When I was a little girl and washed my hair, I was always told to rinse it till it squeaked - so I've always thought that was the origin of the expression. (Even now, I always check that I've got all the shampoo out of my hair by checking its 'squeakiness".  )
> 
> To my mind, this only applies when talking about a person. It used to be said that in order to be elected a politician had to be _squeaky clean _(in other words, no skeletons in the closet) - these days the bar doesn't seem to be quite that high.


 
I agree, Di, that this expression comes from a shampoo commercial--maybe in the 1970s (too long ago to remember details).

It does _not_ connote automatically that the person doing the cleaning is overclean or obsessive--just thorough.

_"My mother is coming to visit this weekend, so the bathroom and kitchen have to be squeaky clean!"_ is something I might say. It isn't obsessive, just appropriate given the occasion!

Another frequent usage of SC in AE is concerning someone's ethics or professional reputation: _As a politician facing the usual temptations from lobbyists, Senator Smith is squeaky clean in accounting for his expenses._


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## Nicomon

DeSica said:


> _Aveuglante_ de propreté
> D'une propreté _maniaque_


 For excessiveness, I like both, or yet another word that comes to mind is _rutilant(e)_

In Wildan's context, above... I revert to_ immaculé, _or may be _la salle de bains et la cuisine doivent reluire de propreté._


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## Broff

I like 'aveuglant de propreté' because it renders the idea that it is so clean that your sense can perceive it.  Well it this case it makes you blind!  Like in English it's squeaky clean:  it is so clean that it squeaks when you touch it.


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## guinguette83

Thanks everyone!!!

I think you have treated almost every aspect of cleanliness now  and i found some very useful frases! Thanks!!


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## Read2much

Hello,
To resuscitate an old thread, could we sometimes use the word "propret" to translate squeaky clean, for a person or a situation? or "propre sur soi"? 

I am looking for "some nauseatingly perfect, clean-shaven boy band..."

I felt like changing the whole sentence and saying "un boys band bien propret et excessivement parfait, qui..."

because in French you don't use as many adverb / adjective combinations as in English, I believe, so the nauseatingly perfect might not go down as well. 

What do you think?

Read2much

PS Just realised that squeaky clean is not in the original text, but I was trawling the Forum for similar expressions to inspire me and came across this discussion.


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## xiancee

" un "boys' band ou ils sont tous rasés de frais et si parfaits que ca en fait mal au coeur"


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## Read2much

Merci, Xiancee! Je les imagine tout à fait!! Comme si j'y étais...


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## xiancee

yeah .. sickening innit?


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## earthmerlin

Bonjour. I'm looking for a French phrase of 'squeaky clean' &/or 'clean as a whistle'(essentially synonyms). I mean this literally, as when I take my little kid out of the tub & want to tell her 'You're now squeaky clean' or 'Now my love, you're as clean as a whistle'. Any French takes on this LITERAL interpretation of the phrase?


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## Read2much

I think they say "propre comme un sou neuf", at the risk of sounding rather old-fashioned, like "clean as a whistle".


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## leamilly

Perfect match is "nickel chrome"


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