smashing
nounEtymology From smash + -ing. As a synonym for wonderful, the term first appeared in the United States in the early twentieth century, and possibly derives from the sense of smash used in smash hit and similar terms. Popular folk etymology connects the term to the broadly homophonous Irish is maith sin or Scottish Gaelic 's math sin ("that is good"), but this has been described as "improbable", and does not appear in the etymological dictionaries.
8 senses
- 1The breaking or destruction of (something brittle) in a…
- 2The destruction or disintegration of something by being smashed.
- 3The hitting of something extremely hard.
- 4The complete and sudden ruin or ruination of something.
- 5An overwhelming victory or success.
- 6The deformation of something through continuous pressure.
- 7An act of sexual intercourse.
- 8A disastrous failure of something.
1
The breaking or destruction of (something brittle) in a violent manner.
- Some Greek dance is traditionally accompanied by the smashing of crockery.
- Incoherency had overtaken his speech, but he was unaware of it. Nor did he connect the smashing of a bottle with the generous curve of his transit.1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 117:
1 more example
- As soon as this danger was appreciated there followed a nervous smashing and chopping of triffids everywhere, until it occurred to someone that all that was necessary to make them harmless was the removal of the actual stinging weapon.1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 43:
2
The destruction or disintegration of something by being smashed.
3
The hitting of something extremely hard.
4
The complete and sudden ruin or ruination of something.
6
The deformation of something through continuous pressure.
- Derived terms
- bone smashing, stack smashing