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To: Impala64ssa
" "Despite its American sound and its common use by the fiery animated cartoon character Yosemite Sam, smithereens did not originate in American slang. Although no one is entirely positive about its precise origins, scholars think that smithereens likely developed from the Irish word smidiríní, which means "little bits." That Irish word is the diminutive of smiodar, meaning "fragment." Written record of the use of smithereen dates back to 1829."

Now you know.......

5 posted on 09/01/2016 10:05:12 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco (If only Hillary had married OJ instead......)
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To: Hot Tabasco

Ahhhhh but of course....the Celts are the originators of all things


22 posted on 09/01/2016 10:14:49 AM PDT by Nifster (Ignore all polls. Get Out The Vote)
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To: Hot Tabasco

By definition, there is no such thing as a smithereen. They only exist in multiples, as in ‘the drone was blown to smithereens.’


44 posted on 09/01/2016 10:43:17 AM PDT by Quality_Not_Quantity (Democrat Drinking Game - Every time they mention a new social program, chug someone else's beer.)
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To: Hot Tabasco

Nice. Thanks. I love etymology.

I seem to recall that there was a punk band in the 1980s or ‘90s called Smithereens.


109 posted on 09/01/2016 12:35:50 PM PDT by Bigg Red (Go away, Satan! -- Fr.Jacques Hamel (R.I.P., martyr))
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To: Hot Tabasco

Technically, Yosemite Sam favors a specific variant of the word which features an extra syllable: “smithereenies”.


137 posted on 09/01/2016 9:24:47 PM PDT by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
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