smithereens

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   very small fragments produced when something is shattered or destroyed

   The blast blew the empty shed to smithereens.

Simplified etymology

Smithereens, meaning tiny fragments produced by breaking something, was first recorded in the early 19th century. It probably comes from Irish smidirín, derived from smiodar, “fragment.”

Probably from Irish smidirin, 'small fragment,' a diminutive related to smiodar, 'fragment,' though the exact route into Hiberno-English is uncertain. The word is normally plural and is especially common in the phrase to smithereens.

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