what's the difference between "neat" and " tidy"?

[Xplay]

it seems that they both mean "clean and in order"

can these two words be used interchangbly?

ty

[HamburgEnglish]

Neat normally tends towards "in order or well formed"
Tidy tends towards "not in a mess" (by the way "tidy" can also mean "very good" in some areas of the UK.)

There are many of these statements in English.

Prim and proper.
Neat and tidy.
Spick and span.

.... etc

Rob
www.hamburg-english.org