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Blown to smithereens

Blown to smithereensMeaningDisintegrated into small fragments, by a sudden impact or explosion. OriginSmithereens is an Irish word. It derives from, or is possibly the source of, the modern Irish 'smidirín', which means 'small fragments'. There is a town near Baltimore, close to the south-west coast of Ireland, called Skibbereen. The name means 'little boat harbour' and it is tempting to imagine sailing ships arriving there from the wild Atlantic by being 'blown to Skibbereen'. The more recent 'Troubles' also bring up images of property/people being dynamited and 'blown to Skibbereen' from all over Ireland. There's no record of any such phrase however, and the similarity between the words Skibbereen and smithereens seems to be no more than co-incidence. Another enticing notion as to the source of smithereens is that it refers to the shards of metal formed when iron is forged and hammered in a smithy. Again, there's nothing but wishful thinking to support that idea. The actual origin is more prosaic. 'Smiodar' means fragments in Irish. 'Een' is a commonplace diminutive ending, as in colleen (girl), i.e. Caile (country woman) + een. Similarly, smiodar + een lead us to smithereen. As with many words that are inherited from other languages, it took some time for the English spelling to become stable. Both 'smiddereens' and 'shivereens' are recorded in the mid 19th century. The notion of things being 'broken/smashed/blown to smithereens' dates from at least the turn of the 19th century. Francis Plowden, in The History of Ireland, 1801, records a threat made against a Mr. Pounden by a group of Orangemen: "If you don't be off directly, by the ghost of William, our deliverer, and by the orange we wear, we will break your carriage in smithereens, and hough your cattle and burn your house."['Hough' is a variant of 'hock' - to disable by cutting the tendons]Smithereens is one of those unusual nouns that, like suds and secateurs, never venture out by themselves - the word is always plural.

Peter Wright ● 6737d5 Comments

Do we have any other words from the Irish?I'm sure there must be plenty just can't think of any at this moment.

Jane Salisbury ● 6736d

Hows about 'BLARNEY'?

Gerry Tan ● 6736d

Some other words from Irish:bard, bog, brogue, bun (as in 'nice buns', used in US english, and from it: bunny - denoting a rabbit's bottom...), carrageen, dig (as in 'you dig' or twig), down (as in swathe of hills), drumlin, galore, hooligan, hubbub, hummock, kibosh, lough, pet (as in tame animal), phony, pillion, shamrock, shanty (means old house), shebeen, shindig, slew (as in multitude), slob, slogan (call to the multitude - same base as slew), Tory (robber), tosser, truant, tussock, whiskey (from uisce beatha - water of life).Teaming, as in 'The rain came teaming down', is also Irish.Smashing, meaning good (from 's math sin'- meaning 'that is good').

David Fox ● 6735d

It's a lovely rich language is Irish.There are a couple of words I love, which I think are of Irish origin...Banjax and eigit...delightful words to utter.

Gerry Tan ● 6735d

From the Irish people, not language, we have boycott. Wikipedia saysThe word boycott entered the English language during the Irish "Land War" and is derived from the name of Captain Charles Boycott, the estate agent of an absentee landlord, the Earl Erne, in County Mayo, Ireland, who was subject to social ostracism organized by the Irish Land League in 1880. In September that year protesting tenants demanded from Boycott a substantial reduction in their rents. He not only refused but also evicted them from the land. Charles Stewart Parnell, in his Ennis Speech proposed that, rather than resorting to violence, everyone in the locality should refuse to deal with him. Despite the short-term economic hardship to those undertaking this action, Boycott soon found himself isolated—his workers stopped work in the fields and stables, as well as the house. Local businessmen stopped trading with him, and the local postman refused to deliver mail.The concerted action taken against him meant that Boycott was unable to hire anyone to harvest the crops in his charge. Eventually 50 Orangemen from Cavan and Monaghan volunteered to harvest his crops. They were escorted to and from Claremorris by one thousand policemen and soldiers—this despite the fact that Boycott's complete social ostracism meant that he was actually in no danger of being harmed. Moreover, this protection ended up costing far more than the harvest was worth. After the harvest, the "boycott" was successfully continued. Within weeks Boycott's name was everywhere. It was used by The Times in November 1880 as a term for organized isolation. According to an account in the book “The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland” by Michael Davitt, the term was coined by Fr. John O'Malley of County Mayo to "signify ostracism applied to a landlord or agent like Boycott". The Times first reported on November 20, 1880: “The people of New Pallas have resolved to 'boycott' them and refused to supply them with food or drink.” The Daily News wrote on December 13, 1880: “Already the stoutest-hearted are yielding on every side to the dread of being 'Boycotted'.” By January of the following year, the word was being used figuratively: "Dame Nature arose.... She 'Boycotted' London from Kew to Mile End" (The Spectator, January 22, 1881).On December 1, 1880 Captain Boycott left his post and withdrew to England, with his family.

Graham Weeks ● 6734d