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A.Word.A.Day--smithereens

This week's theme: Words borrowed from Irish.

smithereens (smith-uh-REENZ) noun

Tiny fragments.

[Probably from Irish smidirin, diminutive of smiodar (fragment).]

See more usage examples of smithereens in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

"[The heroine] finds herself being mistaken for someone else and falling, abruptly, down a rabbit hole -- her identity stolen, her daily life torpedoed, her most fundamental expectations about life blown to smithereens." Michiko Kakutani; A Misunderstanding, and a Simple Life Descends Into a Nightmare; The New York Times; May 8, 2007.

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