be blasted to smithereens

To be blown up or broken apart into tiny, fragmentary pieces. "Smithereens," first appearing in English in 1829 as "smiddereens," is likely derived from the Irish word "smidirín" or "smidiríní," meaning "fragment." I wish I could still go visit our old family home, but it's already been blasted to smithereens by the demolition crew. The village was blasted to smithereens by the typhoon's gale-force winds. The gunpowder stored below somehow ignited, and the entire ship was blasted to smithereens.

be blown to smithereens

To be blown up or broken apart into tiny, fragmentary pieces. "Smithereens," first appearing in English in 1829 as "smiddereens," is likely derived from the Irish word "smidirín" or "smidiríní," meaning "fragment." I wish I could still go visit our old family home, but it's already been blown to smithereens by the demolition crew. The village was blown to smithereens by the typhoon's gale-force winds. The gunpowder stored below somehow ignited, and the entire ship was blown to smithereens.

be smashed to smithereens

To be broken apart or otherwise destroyed into tiny, fragmentary pieces. "Smithereens," first appearing in English in 1829 as "smiddereens," is likely derived from the Irish word "smidirín" or "smidiríní," meaning "fragment." I wish I could still go visit our old family home, but it's already been smashed to smithereens by the demolition crew. The village was smashed to smithereens by the typhoon's gale-force winds. The gunpowder stored below somehow ignited, and the entire ship was smashed to smithereens.

blast to smithereens

To explode or otherwise destroy something into tiny, fragmentary pieces. Smithereens, first appearing in 1829 as "smiddereens," is likely derived from the Irish word "smidirín" or "smidiríní," meaning fragment. The demolition crew came in and blasted the house to smithereens. The small band of rebels didn't stand a chance; they were blasted to smithereens as soon as the loyalists had them in sight. The typhoon's gale-force winds blasted the village to smithereens.

blow to smithereens

cliché "Smithereens," first appearing in English in 1829 as "smiddereens," is likely derived from the Irish word smidirín or smidiríní, meaning "fragment."

1. To be smashed or blasted into tiny, fragmentary pieces. The soldiers detonated the explosives and watched the vehicle blow to smithereens. The gunpowder stored below somehow ignited, and the entire ship blew to smithereens. A: "Do the authorities have any idea why the house just blew to smithereens?" B: "They think a gas leak was part of the problem."

2. To smash or blast someone or something into tiny pieces. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "blow" and "to." The demolition crew blew the building to smithereens in a matter of seconds. The typhoon's gale-force winds have been blowing the village to smithereens over the last few days. I've heard there are still landmines around here, so we'll have to be careful. One wrong step will blow us to smithereens!

hack (something) to smithereens

To alter something significantly by removing pieces of it, often in a clumsy or aggressive manner. Can be used literally or figuratively. ("Smithereens," meaning "bits," comes from Irish Gaelic.) Quit hacking the roast to smithereens and just let Dad cut it, will you? I thought I'd written a strong proposal—until my boss hacked it to smithereens, that is. A: "Why am I so itchy?" B: "I hope you didn't hack a poisonous plant to smithereens while you were clearing out brush back there."

smash (something) to smithereens

To break or destroy something into tiny, fragmentary pieces. "Smithereens," first appearing in English in 1829 as "smiddereens," is likely derived from the Irish word "smidirín" or "smidiríní," meaning "fragment." The demolition crew brought in the wrecking ball, which smashed the house to smithereens in a matter of hours. The typhoon's gale-force winds have been smashing the village to smithereens over the last few days.

blow someone or something to smithereens

and blow someone or something to bits; blow someone or something to pieces

Lit. to explode someone or something into tiny pieces. (See also blow something to smithereens.) The bomb blew the ancient church to smithereens. The explosion blew the tank to bits. The explosion blew the car to pieces.

blow something to smithereens

and blow something to bits; blow something to pieces

Fig. to destroy an idea or plan by exposing its faults. (See also blow someone or something to smithereens.) The discovery blew my case to pieces. The opposing lawyer blew my case to smithereens.

blow, smash, etc. something to smitheˈreens

(informal) destroy something completely by breaking it into small pieces: The bomb blew the car to smithereens.

blow(n) to smithereens

Smash, destroy. Again, blow here means “explode,” and smithereens probably means “little smithers,” a dialect word thought to mean “bits” or “pieces.” The term was appealing enough to be used often from the early nineteenth century on, even by that great wordsmith James Joyce (“Crew and cargo in smithereens,” in Ulysses, 1922).