Clean

As is so often the case, dictionary day throws up something I did not expect (actually I did not know what to expect, and maybe “surprise” is a better word.)
Anyway todays word is “clean.”  It has a heap of add ons like “showing a clean pair of heels” to highlight getting away or having “clean hands” before I eat.  There is making a “clean break” from the past.  That is mostly used in connection to desisting from some destructive habit.  It often leads to having a “clean slate.”  I actually like the thought of a clean slate.  It generally means what is owing has been supplied - a new start.
Naturally there is just the word “clean” which the first definition the dictionary gives is, “to be free from contamination.”  I remember as a joke telling someone I bath Thursdays.  I did not mention I bath other days to.  So the implication was it was only on that day of the week I had a bath.  From then on people were told by that person that I only bathed Thursdays.
Anyway to be clean I find to be desirable when I have been working in the yard.  I tend not to hold back at all in getting “down and dirty,” but that does not matter to me as I know I will be able to clean up.
There are also vessels we get at the markets that require a bit of a clean.  These make them presentable for sale.
It seems to me sometimes the worth of something is disguised by dirt.  Ages ago we bought a set of draws at the marketplace.  We were pleasantly surprised to get them at the price we did.  There was no doubt they needed a cleanup before they could be used.  But we knew we had gotten real value because under the dirt was a really good product.
It really highlighted to me how often something really good is overlooked because in its current state it does not look really good.  It is definitely worth a cleanup.