SMITHEREENS

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7417
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

SMITHEREENS

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat May 07, 2005 11:27 pm

• smithereens •

Pronunciation: smi-dhêr-eensHear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, plural

Meaning: A host of broken fragments.

Notes: This word is rather an English oddity not given to derivation, but several writers have tried it as a verb: a bomb big enough to smithereen a large building or a turn of events that smithereens your plans for the weekend. No one seems to have tried a single smithereen yet, so we will continue to call it a plural noun—not to deter you from pushing the envelop.

In Play: This Good Word is used almost exclusively in phrases like 'break, blow, knock to smithereens'. Yet it has much greater metaphorical potential, as D. H. Lawrence demonstrated in Mornings in Mexico 16 (1927): "The sun went bang, with smithereens of birds bursting in all directions." It has a startling, unexpected beauty: "After the funeral, he sat in his living room for days, profoundly forlorn, amidst the smithereens of the life he had shared with her for 52 years."

Word History: This good if mysterious Word has worried etymologists for ages. While a smith's hammer could certainly blast many objects to smithereens, it apparently has nothing to do with today's word. Now evidence indicates that it is a simple borrowing from Irish Gaelic smidiriin, the diminutive of smiodar "a small fragment". The base word also exists in English as smithers, as the bicycle came out of the box in smithers and we had to assemble it ourselves. (Patricia Castellanos of Montevideo, Uruguay suggested we look into today's Good Word. We're glad she did.)
• The Good Dr. Goodword

Brazilian dude
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1464
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Botucatu - SP Brazil

Postby Brazilian dude » Sat May 07, 2005 11:37 pm

not to deter you from pushing the envelop.
Did you smithereen the e, Dr. Goodword?

Brazilian dud
Languages rule!

M. Henri Day
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1141
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:24 am
Location: Stockholm, SVERIGE

Re: SMITHEREENS

Postby M. Henri Day » Sun May 08, 2005 11:00 am

...

The base word also exists in English as smithers, as the bicycle came out of the box in smithers and we had to assemble it ourselves. (Patricia Castellanos of Montevideo, Uruguay suggested we look into today's Good Word. We're glad she did.)
I may be more irascible than the good Doctor, but if a bicycle I had ordered came out of the box in smithers, far from attempting to assemble the bike, I'd send the box back....

Henri
曾记否,到中流击水,浪遏飞舟?

User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7417
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

Bibycle smithers

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sun May 08, 2005 3:28 pm

Prosaic licencse, Henri, based on a first impression upon opening the box.

However, smithers to me aren't quite as much bad news as are smitereens. Do you have a different impression?

--DR. GW
• The Good Dr. Goodword

misterdoe
Senior Lexiterian
Posts: 619
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:21 am
Location: New York City area
Contact:

Re: SMITHEREENS

Postby misterdoe » Fri May 29, 2015 10:13 am

...
I may be more irascible than the good Doctor, but if a bicycle I had ordered came out of the box in smithers, far from attempting to assemble the bike, I'd send the box back....

Henri
And keep the contents? :D

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8040
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Re: SMITHEREENS

Postby Slava » Fri May 29, 2015 8:48 pm

Excellent idea, misterdoe! Nice catch, too.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 50 guests