smashn.1
/smaʃ/, U.S. /smæʃ/ 1.
a. dialect or colloquial. A hard or heavy blow. (In earliest quots. figurative.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific degree of force > [noun] > striking heavily > a heavy blow
smitea1200
ponder1339
clouta1400
whopc1440
routa1450
maul1481
sousec1500
dunta1522
flake1559
lambskin1573
lamback1592
daud1596
baster1600
mell1658
thumper1682
lounder1723
smash1725
plumper1756
spanker1772
douser1782
thud1787
bash1805
stave1819
batter1823
belter1823
wallop1823
whacker1823
belt1825
smasher1829
dingbat1843
dinger1845
oner1861
squeaker1877
clod1886
wham1923
dong1941
1725 E. Wigan Let. 25 Sept. in N. D. Mereness Trav. Amer. Colonies (1916) 156 They design to keep out look~outs every way and be ready to give them a Smash in their Towns.
1779 T. Twining in R. Twining Recr. & Stud. (1882) 68 This last American smash of Sir George Collier's.
1780 T. Twining in R. Twining Recr. & Stud. (1882) 79 I want nothing but one good smash at the French fleet.
1816 G. Muir Clydesdale Minstrelsy 24 (E.D.D.) Their shoon wi' tackets Were ca'd as fu' as cobler's smash Cou'd get them thacket.
1886 A. D. Willock Rosetty Ends (1887) 21 Seizin' a hoe..he made a smash at the beast.
1898 Daily News 24 Nov. 7/3 Sharkey came back with his right, delivering several smashes on Corbett's wind.
b. Tennis. A hard and fast overhand volley. Also in Badminton, Table Tennis, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > [noun] > manner of playing ball
bata1400
back-swing1577
banding1589
stroke1662
stop1773
swipe1788
hit1810
straik1820
screwing1825
return1833
volleying1837
return stroke1838
volley1851
swiper1853
shot1868
handling1870
screw kick1870
mishit1882
smash1882
misfield1886
fumble1895
run-up1897
mishitting1900
balloon1904
carryback1905
placement1909
tonk1922
trick shot1924
retrieve1952
sizzler1960
undercut1960
shotmaking1969
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > lawn tennis > [noun] > types of stroke
service1611
serving1688
screw1865
cut1874
cutting service1874
boast1878
first serve1878
smash1882
twister1884
cross-shot1889
lob1890
ground stroke1895
lob ball1900
twist service1901
boasting1902
cross-volley1905
get1911
chop1913
forehander1922
kick serve1925
forehand1934
touch shot1936
dink1939
net shot1961
overhead1964
groundie1967
slice1969
moonball1975
moonballing1977
1882 Daily Tel. 18 July 2 Fourth game: Won by E. Renshaw, after some grand play, ‘smashes’ being frequent.
1894 Outing 24 297/2 One of Hovey's smashes brought an end to the situation.
1950 Badminton (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) 30/1 The smash is perhaps the most vulnerable stroke in the game.
1981 G. MacBeth Kind of Treason xvi. 156 ‘Fourteen~fifteen,’ said Yoshida, serving again. He'd lost the point..by a wasted smash.
2. † a. slang. Mashed turnips. Obsolete.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > prepared vegetables and dishes > [noun] > other vegetable dishes
moose1568
bubble and squeak1762
poipoi1769
smash1785
poi1798
chartreuse1806
mescal1831
bhaji1832
luau1843
stelk1843
macédoine1846
peyote1849
chiffonade1877
mirepoix1877
munyeroo1878
tzimmes1892
maror1893
red flannel hash1902
subgum1902
Roquefort salad1907
caponata1931
pakora1932
Imam Bayildi1935
ratatouille niçoise1938
cauliflower cheese1940
vegeburger1945
saag aloo1967
githeri1973
aloo gobi1974
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (at cited word) Leg of mutton and smash.
1799 Sporting Mag. 13 360 W. S. Green,..for a wager of a leg of mutton and smash, drank three pints of Cogniac brandy in half an hour.
b. A shivered or broken-up condition. Chiefly in phrases to break, knock etc., or go, to smash. Also used figuratively (cf. 4a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (intransitive)] > shatter or break to pieces or burst
to-burstc893
forbursta1000
springOE
to-flyc1000
to-shootc1000
to-springc1000
to-drevea1225
to-resea1225
to-breakc1230
to go shiversc1275
to-drivec1275
to-rivec1275
to-shenec1275
to-wendc1275
debruise1297
lash13..
to-dashc1300
to-scatter13..
to-shiver13..
shiverc1330
bequash1377
shinderc1390
brasta1400
bursta1400
to-shiderc1450
to fly in pieces1488
sprent1488
splindera1500
reavec1560
dishiver1562
shatter1567
disshiver1586
split1590
slent1608
besplit1638
disrupt1657
splintera1661
rupture1734
explode1784
to ding in staves1786
to break, knock etc., or go, to smash1798
spell1811
to go (also run) smash1818
to play smash1841
bust1844
splitter1860
disrump1886
to fall into staves1895
smash1904
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > breaking into pieces or shattering > state of being shattered or smashed
stramash1827
smashery1830
smash1857
smash-up1858
(a)
(b)1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days ii. iii. 278 The door panels were in a normal state of smash.1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island i. v. 43 You cannot imagine a house in such a state of smash.1798 C. Smith Young Philosopher III. 124 She rayally thought her carridge would have been broke to smash.
1807 Salmagundi 27 June 238 He determined to do the thing genteelly, to go to smash like a hero, and dashed into the limits in high style.
1830 J. Galt Lawrie Todd I. ii. iv. 117 It beats Shedry and Abendy to immortal smash.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack v. 21 [It] had..‘knocked his figure-head all to smash’.
1874 Huxley in Life (1900) I. xxviii. 413 The..arrangements all went to smash.
3.
a. A loud sound of breaking or crushing; a severe or extensive crushing, shivering, or breaking of anything, esp. accompanied by a crashing sound; a violent collision or impact.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > [noun] > forcible, heavy, or violent
piltinga1250
racec1330
squatc1350
dasha1375
percussion?a1425
peise1490
poise1490
dashing1580
gulp1598
jolt1599
feeze1603
slam1622
arietation1625
pash1677
pulse1677
jounce1784
smash1808
smashing1821
dush1827
birr1830
dunch1831
whop1895
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > breaking into pieces or shattering
shiveringc1400
truncheoning1477
upbreaking1493
confraction?1541
refraction1578
splinting1598
diffraction1654
hatchet work1697
shattering1748
exploding1791
smash1808
explosion1811
splintering1815
blasting1824
shatterment1841
scatteration1880
smashing1886
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sudden or violent sound > [noun] > of impact or concussion > crash, clash, or smash
rackc1300
crushc1330
crashingc1440
rasha1450
reela1450
frush1487
clasha1522
crash1574
clush-clash1582
crush-crash1582
rouncival1582
clashing1619
rack1671
smash1808
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Smash,..the sound of breaking, a crash.
1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log I. i. 6 I could distinctly hear a heavy smash, as the large and ponderous blocks..struck the doomed sailor.
1841 Punch 16 Oct. 165/2 The infernal smashes that have recently taken place on several railroad lines.
1853 J. R. Lowell Moosehead Jrnl. in Prose Wks. (1890) I. 4 The last great railroad smash.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. xiv. 230 One of the dim floating lights disappeared with a smash from a stone.
1876 J. S. Bristowe Treat. Theory & Pract. Med. i. iii. 112 A smash of the leg.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 27 Apr. 4/2 If the brakes fail to hold it is impossible to avoid a bad smash.
1957 M. Spark Comforters viii. 196 If I hadn't had the smash I'd have got you last autumn.
b. Geology. (See quot. 1902.)
ΚΠ
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXIII. 775 The Lower Chalk formation..contains many ruptures and dislocations, ‘smashes’ as they are now commonly called.
4.
a. Commercial failure; stoppage through insolvency; bankruptcy. (Cf. crash n.1 2b.)
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > financial loss > [noun] > commercial failure
failing1671
failure1702
crash1817
smash1839
smashdom1859
1839 J. G. Lockhart Ballantyne-humbug 114 He was careful enough to give his wife £250 on the very morning of the smash!
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table x. 281 A commercial smash kills a hundred men's houses for them.
1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xxxix. 341 There is no saying what day a smash may come.
b. A crushing defeat or overthrow.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defeat > [noun]
confusionc1290
scomfit13..
cumber1303
discomfitc1330
scomfitingc1333
discomfiturea1400
scomfiturea1400
discomfitingc1405
overthrowc1440
male journey1455
overset1456
foilc1478
discomforture1485
supprise1488
reversea1529
distrage?1548
loss1548
defeat1553
underdeal1553
discomfort1589
defeatment1598
defeature1598
rufflec1600
defeatance1608
routa1616
Caudine Forks1619
disrout1623
conviction1631
bang1644
derout1644
conquest1677
drubbing1769
check1793
thrashing1797
sauve-qui-peut1815
debacle1847
smash1888
pasting1942
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > defeat or overthrow > [noun] > heavy or crushing
overset1456
Pharsalia1693
smashing1821
rout1831
sauve-qui-peut1861
drubbing1884
smash1888
pounding1912
shellacking1931
fucking?1945
bloodbath1967
wipeout1968
skinning1972
1888 Spectator 30 June 878 A smash of Sir E. Watkin by an instinctive vote of the House.
1897 R. S. S. Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign v. 125 It was a final smash to the enemy in the north.
c. A break-up of some kind; a revolution.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > revolution > [noun]
uparisingc1325
mutationa1513
revolution1555
innovation1601
novation1603
conversion1614
smash1890
1890 Spectator 2 Aug. 133/1 The ‘smash’ at Buenos Ayres, which has been expected for the last six weeks,..took place last Saturday.
5.
a. An American beverage made of spirit, ice, water, sugar, and flavoured with mint.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > cocktail > [noun] > other cocktails
balderdash1611
twist1699
Coke-upon-Littleton1740
julep1787
camphor julep1788
switchel1790
sling1792
mint sling1804
mint julep1809
swizzle1813
smash1850
rattlesnake1862
sour1862
Collins1865
John Collins1865
split1882
rickey1893
Picon punch1900
stinger1901
Bronx1906
Jack Rose1912
Pimm's1912
orange blossom1919
Americano1928
Merry Widow1930
snowball1930
atomic cocktail1941
Sazarac cocktail1941
grasshopper1949
Bellini1955
saketini1959
wallbanger1970
caipirinha1973
Long Island ice tea1978
Alabama slammer1980
Long Island iced tea1981
1850 A. W. Thaxter Poem before Iadma 7 Or didst thou at the Pemberton absorb a brandy-smash?
1859 F. Fowler Southern Lights 52 A Smash, ice, brandy, and water.
1861 Times 10 July Thirsty souls, who have hastened on board..for a julep, a smash, or a cocktail.
1871 Birmingham Daily Post 22 Dec. And our American refreshment bars, In drinks of all descriptions cut a dash, From corpse revivers down to ‘brandy smash’.
1873 J. Miller Life amongst Modocs (1876) v. 81 Come take a smash! It will strengthen you up..cried an old sailor, glass in hand.
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. Brandy-smash, a drink made by mixing brandy with crushed ice and putting a few sprigs of mint in the glass.
1958 A. L. Simon Dict. Wines 147/2 Smashes, mixed iced drinks always with a spirit foundation and some mint flavouring.
1973 P. G. Wodehouse Bachelors Anonymous xiii. 170 What more likely than that he should have fetched up in Hollywood, made a packet, perished of a surfeit of brandy smashes, and left that packet to that nephew.
b. An alcoholic drink, esp. wine. North American slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > [noun] > a drink of
strong drink?1490
drink1535
whiff1605
tip1612
wet1719
swilla1731
booze1732
slug1756
whitter1786
intoxication1799
O (or oh) be joyful1823
sneezer1823
north-wester1830
drain1836
damp1837
smile1839
snifter1844
liquor1860
rosiner1871
tiddlywink1880
bevvy1889
gargle1889
snort1889
jolt1904
smahan1914
tincture1914
taste1919
piss1925
drinkie1947
smash1959
shant1960
1959 Maclean's 15 Aug. 28/2 So I had a couple of smashes and marched in.
1966 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 15 Mar. 35/8 Every time you wanted a smash the check girl would hand the coat to you over the counter, so you could get your mickey without actually taking the coat out.
1975 Amer. Speech 1972 47 153 Let's get in the wind and belt some smash.
6. A great success; a film, person, play, song, etc., which enjoys popular success; a hit (hit n. 4). Also attributive, esp. in smash hit n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [noun] > excellent person or thing
carbunclea1350
swanc1386
phoenixc1400
diamondc1440
broocha1464
surmounterc1500
sovereign?a1513
primrose peerless1523
superlative1577
transcendent1593
Arabian birda1616
crack1637
first rate1681
peach1710
phoenicle1711
admiration1717
spanker1751
first-raterc1760
no slouch of1767
nailer1806
tip-topper1822
ripper1825
ripstaver1828
apotheosis1832
clinker1836
clipper1836
bird1839
keener1839
ripsnorter1840
beater1845
firecracker1845
pumpkin1845
screamer1846
stunner1847
bottler1855
beaut1866
bobby-dazzler1866
one out of the box1867
stem-winder1875
corker1877
trimmer1878
hot stuff1884
daisy1886
jim-dandy1887
cracker1891
jim-hickey1895
peacherino1896
pippin1897
alpha plus1898
peacherine1900
pip1900
humdinger1905
bosker1906
hummer1907
good egg1914
superstar1914
the berries1918
bee's knee1923
the cat's whiskers1923
smash1923
smash hit1923
brahma1925
dilly1935
piss-cutter1935
killer1937
killer-diller1938
a hard act to follow1942
peacheroo1942
bitch1946
brammerc1950
hot shit1960
Tiffany1973
bollocks1981
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > [noun] > one who or that which is successful > that which is successful > great or sensational
trophy?a1450
triumph1735
succès fou1859
sensation1860
home run1913
whizz-bang1916
wow1920
smash1923
smash hit1923
wham1923
smasheroo1948
1923 Variety 11 Oct. 16 (heading) ‘Rosie O'Reilly’ and ‘The Fool’, Loop's Two Smash Hits.
1930 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Oct. 841/1 An entirely strange girl; whom anyone would have admitted to be a ‘smash’.
1931 Daily Express 21 Sept. 9/3 The magnates who had contracted to buy the picture indulged in fits of doubt concerning its prospects as a box-office ‘smash’.
1935 Amer. Speech 10 193/2 Terminology from other fields aids the fashion editor... The sports writer is also responsible for the smash hit dinner dress.
1935 P. G. Wodehouse Blandings Castle xii. 305 Our whole programme is built around it. We are relying on it to be our big smash.
1948 W. S. Maugham Colonel's Lady in Quartet 201 The English publisher said to him: ‘We've not had a success like this with a book of verse for twenty years.’.. The American publisher said to him: ‘It's swell. It'll be a smash hit in America.’
1949 R. Chandler Let. 23 Apr. in Sel. Lett. (1981) 174 You can't make me into a smash best seller.
1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty Lady sings Blues xix. 177 Holiday on Broadway was a sellout, and the first performance made us think we had a smash.
1961 Amer. Speech 36 110 It was a smash commercial success.
1969 R. Lowell Notebk. 1967–8 71 Eliot dead, you [sc. Ezra Pound] saying, ‘And who is left to understand my jokes? My old Brother in the acts..and besides, he was a smash of a poet.’
1973 Black World Apr. 18/2 All smash Broadway musical hits.
1975 D. Francis High Stakes 232 The oddly mixed party proved a smash-hit success.
1978 Times 1 Nov. 13/1 [His] aim..has been to expand a truthful little ethnic comedy into a popular smash.
Draft additions 1993
7. A party, esp. one that is noisy or unrestrained. Cf. bash n.1 2(b) and thrash n. 4. North American slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > social gathering > party > [noun] > noisy or rowdy
bender1846
hooley1877
corroboree1885
wild party1925
whoopee1928
rort1941
wingding1949
blast1953
smash1963
roister1964
rave-in1967
rager1988
1963 Amer. Speech 38 171 [Kansas Univ. slang] A particularly rough and noisy party:..smash.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 3/7 The Liberals are still planning a big party, but now they are thinking in more modest terms... There are two difficulties in the sort of all-out smash originally contemplated.
1977 New Yorker 26 Sept. 38/3 Every spring the Thrales gave a party... They called this decorous event ‘our smash’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
smashn.2
slang.
1.
a. Counterfeit coin. Also in combination smash-feeder (see quot. 1860).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > false coin > [noun]
scruff1559
countera1616
smash1795
shan1815
queer1819
sheen1839
bogus1842
1795 H. T. Potter New Dict. Cant & Flash Smash,..bad coin.
1839 H. Brandon Dict. Flash or Cant Lang. in W. A. Miles Poverty, Mendicity & Crime 165/2 Smashfeeder, a silver spoon.
1860 Slang Dict. 219 Smash~feeder, a Britannia metal spoon,—the best imitation shillings are made from this metal.
b. Loose change.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > [noun] > small coins collectively
single money1591
small coin1606
change1633
small change1679
grocery1721
smash1821
loose change1827
shrapnel1974
1821 Life D. Haggart 13 M'Guire got L.7 of smash; I got a L.10 banknote.
1953 W. S. Burroughs Junkie ii. 25 Soon I was buying his drinks and meals, and he was hitting me for ‘smash’ (change) at regular intervals.
1953 K. Tennant Joyful Condemned iii. 21 Giving her his smash on pay-night so's she can blow it.
1965 Australasian Post (Melbourne) 4 Mar. 47 Russell goes on to point out that all loose change is sometimes known as ‘smash’.
Categories »
2. (See sling v.1 3f.)
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
smashv.1
/smaʃ/, U.S. /smæʃ/ I. transitive.† 1. slang. (See quot. 1699) Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Smash, to kick down Stairs.
2.
a. To break (anything) in pieces violently; to dash to pieces; to crush, shatter, or shiver.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (transitive)] > break to pieces, shatter, or burst
to-breakc888
briteOE
to-shenec950
abreakOE
forgnidea1000
to-brytc1000
to-burstc1000
to-driveOE
shiverc1200
to-shiverc1200
to-reavec1225
shiverc1250
debruise1297
to-crack13..
to-frushc1300
to-sliftc1315
chinec1330
littlec1350
dingc1380
bruisea1382
burst1382
rushc1390
shinderc1390
spald?a1400
brittenc1400
pashc1400
forbruise1413
to break, etc. into sherds1426
shattera1450
truncheon1477
scarboyle1502
shonk1508
to-shattera1513
rash1513
shidera1529
grind1535
infringe1543
dishiver1562
rupture1578
splinter1582
tear1582
disshiver1596
upburst1596
to burst up1601
diminish1607
confract1609
to blow (shiver, smash, tear, etc.) to or into atoms1612
dishatter1615
vanquashc1626
beshiver1647
disfrange1778
smash1778
explode1784
bust1806
spell1811
smithereen1878
shard1900
1778 Tailors ii. iii While others shall assault each house of call, Smash all their slates, and plunder every box.
1786 in R. Twining Recr. & Stud. (1882) 139 To have his legs and arms smashed.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 202 The first person he met was Frank Kennedy, all smashed and gory.
1820 P. B. Shelley Vision of Sea in Prometheus Unbound 180 Some hideous engine whose brazen teeth smash The thin winds and soft waves into thunder.
1851 G. H. Kingsley in Fraser's Mag. Aug. 145/2 The bottle is smashed!—smashed to atoms!
1885 W. T. Hornaday Two Years in Jungle xviii. 198 Nearly every bamboo..had been pulled down and smashed to splinters.
b. In imprecations, with or without object expressed.
ΚΠ
1819 W. Midford in T. Thompson et al. Coll. Songs Newcastle Dial. 47 Smash! Jemmy, let us buss, we'll off, And see Newcassel Races.
1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Smash, a kind of oath among the pitmen near Newcastle.
1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log I. viii. 221 Smash my eyes, man, but them barrels be full of pimento.
1894 J. T. Clegg David's Loom 181 Smash me! I won't be guilty of bragging.
c. Bookbinding. To flatten or compress (the sheets of a book) before binding.
ΚΠ
a1877 [implied in: E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. III. 2219/2 Smashing-machine (Bookbinding), a press made on the principle of an embossing-press, and used for compressing books. (at smashing-machine n. at smashing n.1 Compounds)].
3.
a. To dash or fling (anything) with noise and violence; to batter; to cause to strike hard.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > impel or drive [verb (transitive)] > so as to hit something > forcibly or violently
smitec1300
pashc1390
beswak?a1513
dash1530
smashc1800
slap1836
the world > movement > impelling or driving > projecting through space or throwing > throw [verb (transitive)] > so as to impinge on something > forcibly
swapc1374
pashc1390
swackc1425
smashc1800
c1800 The Earl o' Bran' xxviii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1892) IV. viii. 444/2 An he smashed them doun a' bane by bane.
1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage to Land of Burns 200 I reft at the rock.., an wou'd hae geen a warl' to been able to lift it, an smash't it in amang them.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. viii. 101 If you give me one word out of your head, I'll smash your face in.
1864 S. Wilberforce in R. G. Wilberforce Life S. Wilberforce (1882) III. v. 137 My mare..smashed my head on the gravel.
1872 C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David III. Ps. lviii. 6 It is asked that their grinders may be smashed in, broken off, or dashed out.
b. Tennis. To strike (the ball) violently and swiftly in an overhand volley. Also absol. and in Badminton, Squash Rackets, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > [verb (transitive)] > play ball in specific way
tossc1530
send1782
place1819
dowf1825
loft1857
belt1870
screw1881
smash1882
English1884
carry1889
slice1890
mishit1903
balloon1904
rainbow1906
rifle1914
tuck1958
stroke1960
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > lawn tennis > play tennis [verb (transitive)] > strike ball in specific way
cut1875
volley1875
smash1882
lob1889
block1895
overhit1919
softball1927
1882 Daily Tel. 18 July 2 W. ‘smashing’ a ball into the net, left the game and sett in his brother's favour by six games to two.
1890 St. Nicholas Sept. 921 He told them..when to ‘smash’ a ball.
1965 Badminton (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) (ed. 2) 31/1 The man should take the shuttle as early as possible, playing drives when the shuttle is too low to smash.
1968 Squash Rackets (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) 43/1 You cannot smash a good high lob as you can at lawn tennis.
1968 Squash Rackets (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) 44/2 A lob that was too high above the player's head has been smashed on to the tin.
4.
a. To defeat utterly; to crush completely; to overcome, overwhelm, or destroy.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > victory > make victorious [verb (transitive)] > conquer or overcome
overcomeeOE
shendc893
awinc1000
overwinOE
overheaveOE
to lay downa1225
mate?c1225
discomfitc1230
win1297
dauntc1300
cumber1303
scomfit1303
fenkc1320
to bear downc1330
confoundc1330
confusec1330
to do, put arrear1330
oversetc1330
vanquishc1330
conquerc1374
overthrowc1375
oppressc1380
outfighta1382
to put downa1382
discomfortc1384
threshc1384
vencuea1400
depressc1400
venque?1402
ding?a1425
cumrayc1425
to put to (also at, unto) the (also one's) worsec1425
to bring or put to (or unto) utterance1430
distrussc1430
supprisec1440
ascomfita1450
to do stress?c1450
victorya1470
to make (win) a conquest1477
convanquish1483
conquest1485
defeat1485
oversailc1485
conques1488
discomfish1488
fulyie1488
distress1489
overpress1489
cravent1490
utter?1533
to give (a person) the overthrow1536
debel1542
convince1548
foil1548
out-war1548
profligate1548
proflige?c1550
expugnate1568
expugn1570
victor1576
dismay1596
damnify1598
triumph1605
convict1607
overman1609
thrash1609
beat1611
debellate1611
import1624
to cut to (or in) pieces1632
maitrise1636
worst1636
forcea1641
outfight1650
outgeneral1767
to cut up1803
smash1813
slosh1890
ream1918
hammer1948
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)] > overcome or defeat > defeat completely or do for
overthrowc1375
checkmatea1400
to bring or put to (or unto) utterance1430
distrussc1430
crusha1599
panga1600
to fetch off1600
finish1611
settle?1611
feague1668
rout1676
spiflicate1749
bowl1793
to settle a person's hash1795
dish1798
smash1813
to cook (rarely do) one's goose1835
thunder-smite1875
scuppera1918
to put the bee on1918
stonker1919
to wrap up1922
root1944
banjax1956
marmalize1966
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > crush, stifle, or overwhelm (feelings, etc.)
shendOE
whelvec1000
allayOE
ofdrunkenc1175
quenchc1175
quashc1275
stanchc1315
quella1325
slockena1340
drenchc1374
vanquishc1380
stuffa1387
daunt?a1400
adauntc1400
to put downa1425
overwhelmc1425
overwhelvec1450
quatc1450
slockc1485
suppressa1500
suffocate1526
quealc1530
to trample under foot1530
repress1532
quail1533
suppress1537
infringe1543
revocate1547
whelm1553
queasom1561
knetcha1564
squench1577
restinguish1579
to keep down1581
trample1583
repel1592
accable1602
crush1610
to wrestle down?1611
chokea1616
stranglea1616
stifle1621
smother1632
overpower1646
resuppress1654
strangulate1665
instranglea1670
to choke back, down, in, out1690
to nip or crush in the bud1746
spiflicate1749
squasha1777
to get under1799
burke1835
to stamp out1851
to trample down1853
quelch1864
to sit upon ——1864
squelch1864
smash1865
garrotte1878
scotch1888
douse1916
to drive under1920
stomp1936
stultify1958
1813 R. Wilson Private Diary (1862) II. 443 It is difficult to smash above one hundred and eighty thousand men resting on fortified bulwarks.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil III. v. i. 3 I am told..that the police were regularly smashed.
1865 Examiner 18 Mar. 162 Suddenly to set aside the spirit and substance thereof for the purposes..of ‘smashing’ a particular bill is an act of suicidal wrong.
1884 Western Daily Press 28 May 8/5 To join in a British expedition to ‘smash’ the Mahdi.
b. To render insolvent or bankrupt.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > [verb (transitive)] > bankrupt
craze1573
break1623
bankrupt?a1625
burst1712
to strike a docket1809
bust1827
smash1857
1857 G. Borrow Romany Rye II. x. 136 My father did his best to smash the Bank of England by passing forged notes, and I did my best to assist him.
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table ix Folks rich once,—smashed up.
II. intransitive.
5. To move rapidly with shattering effect; to dash or smite violently; to crash.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > impinge [verb (intransitive)] > forcibly or violently
beatc885
pilta1200
smitec1300
dashc1305
pitchc1325
dushc1400
hitc1400
jouncec1440
hurl1470
swack1488
knock1530
jut1548
squat1587
bump1699
jowl1770
smash1835
lasha1851
ding1874
biff1904
wham1948
slam1973
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > move swiftly in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > move swiftly and violently
driveeOE
fallOE
reseOE
routOE
rashOE
swip?c1225
weothec1275
startlec1300
lushc1330
swapc1386
brusha1400
spurna1400
buschc1400
frushc1400
rushc1405
rushle1553
rouse1582
hurl1609
powder1632
slash1689
stave1819
tilt1831
bulge1834
smash1835
storm1837
stream1847
ripsnort1932
slam1973
1835 J. Monteath Dunblane Trad. (1887) 122 Headlong he over hillocks rush'd, And wet through bogs and mosses smash'd.
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xviii You may smash away as hard as you can.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xxxv. 217 Picking up the silver dollar, he sent it smashing through the window-pane, out into the darkness.
1898 W. Crookes Addr. Brit. Assoc. 25 The quick moving molecules, smashing on to the surface, have their energy reduced.
6. colloquial. To fail financially; to be ruined; to become insolvent or bankrupt. Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > financial loss > suffer financial loss [verb (intransitive)] > fail financially
fail1682
smash1839
1839 T. Hood My Son & Heir xix A Glazier?—what if he should smash!
1862 G. A. Sala Seven Sons Mammon III. vii. 142 A firm that had smashed for so tremendous an amount.
1876 W. Besant & J. Rice Golden Butterfly II. xv. 233 The Republic..cannot hope to pay its dividends—Must smash up, in short.
7. To break or fly in pieces, esp. as the result of a blow or impact.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (intransitive)] > shatter or break to pieces or burst
to-burstc893
forbursta1000
springOE
to-flyc1000
to-shootc1000
to-springc1000
to-drevea1225
to-resea1225
to-breakc1230
to go shiversc1275
to-drivec1275
to-rivec1275
to-shenec1275
to-wendc1275
debruise1297
lash13..
to-dashc1300
to-scatter13..
to-shiver13..
shiverc1330
bequash1377
shinderc1390
brasta1400
bursta1400
to-shiderc1450
to fly in pieces1488
sprent1488
splindera1500
reavec1560
dishiver1562
shatter1567
disshiver1586
split1590
slent1608
besplit1638
disrupt1657
splintera1661
rupture1734
explode1784
to ding in staves1786
to break, knock etc., or go, to smash1798
spell1811
to go (also run) smash1818
to play smash1841
bust1844
splitter1860
disrump1886
to fall into staves1895
smash1904
1904 W. W. Jacobs Dialstone Lane ii. 27 The pipe fell from the listener's fingers and smashed unheeded on the floor.
III. Adverbial uses.
8.
a. Used adverbially, as in to go (also run) smash.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [adverb] > in a manner that breaks to pieces
shiveringly1631
splintery1784
smash1818
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (intransitive)] > shatter or break to pieces or burst
to-burstc893
forbursta1000
springOE
to-flyc1000
to-shootc1000
to-springc1000
to-drevea1225
to-resea1225
to-breakc1230
to go shiversc1275
to-drivec1275
to-rivec1275
to-shenec1275
to-wendc1275
debruise1297
lash13..
to-dashc1300
to-scatter13..
to-shiver13..
shiverc1330
bequash1377
shinderc1390
brasta1400
bursta1400
to-shiderc1450
to fly in pieces1488
sprent1488
splindera1500
reavec1560
dishiver1562
shatter1567
disshiver1586
split1590
slent1608
besplit1638
disrupt1657
splintera1661
rupture1734
explode1784
to ding in staves1786
to break, knock etc., or go, to smash1798
spell1811
to go (also run) smash1818
to play smash1841
bust1844
splitter1860
disrump1886
to fall into staves1895
smash1904
1818 T. Moore Fudge Family in Paris viii. 2 My stays..I knew would go smash with me one of these days.
1823 Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1824) 204 The last went smash through the shop window into the street.
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy vi Here the hens flew against the dresser, and smash went the plates and dishes.
1849 T. T. Johnson Sights Gold Region xxii. 211 The afternoon of our ‘first day out’ was signalized by running smash into a big sycamore tree.
1888 S. Veitch Dean's Daughter I. i. 25 I saw the great egg go smash against her head.
b. to play smash: to come to grief; to wreak havoc with. dialect and U.S. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > become disordered [verb (intransitive)] > cause disorder
to make havoc1480
to play the devil (also the very devil, the devil and all)1542
to play the dickens1771
to work havoca1774
to play smash1841
to play havoc1910
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (intransitive)] > shatter or break to pieces or burst
to-burstc893
forbursta1000
springOE
to-flyc1000
to-shootc1000
to-springc1000
to-drevea1225
to-resea1225
to-breakc1230
to go shiversc1275
to-drivec1275
to-rivec1275
to-shenec1275
to-wendc1275
debruise1297
lash13..
to-dashc1300
to-scatter13..
to-shiver13..
shiverc1330
bequash1377
shinderc1390
brasta1400
bursta1400
to-shiderc1450
to fly in pieces1488
sprent1488
splindera1500
reavec1560
dishiver1562
shatter1567
disshiver1586
split1590
slent1608
besplit1638
disrupt1657
splintera1661
rupture1734
explode1784
to ding in staves1786
to break, knock etc., or go, to smash1798
spell1811
to go (also run) smash1818
to play smash1841
bust1844
splitter1860
disrump1886
to fall into staves1895
smash1904
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > fail or be unsuccessful [verb (intransitive)] > come to grief
misfareOE
miswendOE
misferec1275
misspeeda1387
miscarryc1387
mischieve?a1400
to catch copper1530
to lose one's seatc1540
mischief1598
to bu(r)st one's boiler1824
to come to grief1850
to come (also go) a mucker1851
to come (fall, get) a cropper1858
mucker1862
to go or be up the flume1865
to come undone1899
to play smash1903
to come to a sticky end1904
to come unstuck1911
1841 Spirit of Times 2 Jan. 523/2 Bill Spence got drunk and played smash with all the arrangements.
1842 D. Vedder Poems 84 Slates an' tiles, frae aff the houses, On the causey crown played smash.
1887 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 17 Jan. 1/7 (caption) Plays Smash With a Passenger Train on the Fitchburg Railroad.
1903 W. N. Harben Abner Daniel ii. 11 Yore pa's as bull~headed as a young steer, an' he's already played smash anyway.
1912 Dial. Notes 3 585 Play smash,..a euphemism for play hell or play the devil.
1915 Dial. Notes 4 iii. 187 Play smash,..to make a great blunder; do a thing wholly wrong.
Draft additions June 2015
transitive. colloquial (originally U.S.). Usually in to smash it. In earliest use: to do extremely well at (an examination subject) (rare). Subsequently: to do or perform (something, esp. popular music) impressively or conclusively. Cf. kill v. Additions.
ΚΠ
1968 C. F. Baker et al. College Undergraduate Slang Study (typescript, Brown Univ.) Lexicon 199 Smash it, to do well in an examination.
1994 Generator Dec. 62/2 In Toronto CJ Rap, Jack Frost, and Kenny Ken are smashing it to audiences of 4,000–5,000.
1997 ‘Q’ Deadmeat 246 The drum 'n' bass fever Mark was spreading was raw, British and personal. He was smashing it. I nodded my head to the brutal groove.
2006 Touch Dec. 1110/3 Everybody should be checking out..the Bacardi B-Live room, which always smashes it year in, year out.
2014 Liverpool Echo (Nexis) 3 Nov. 11 All four judges agreed that she smashed the dance with Louis calling it ‘one of the most amazing things I've ever seen on X Factor’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
smashv.2
Cant.
1. transitive. To pass (counterfeit money).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > circulation of money > put into circulation [verb (transitive)] > pass counterfeits
to give (one) the slip1567
output1576
to nail up for a slip1594
spring1686
smash1801
shove1859
drop1938
1801 Sporting Mag. 19 88/1 He had never seen any [forged notes] that were better done; he had smashed several.
1811 Lexicon Balatronicum
1851 Househ. Words 25 Jan. 423 I [a bad shilling] remained to be ‘smashed’ (passed) by my master.
1898 A. M. Binstead Pink 'Un & Pelican x. 229 The small tradesman, afraid to smash his notes at a bureau, had them still intact when the police called upon him.
1905 A. M. Binstead Mop Fair ii. 28 The imaginary ‘bailiff’ who spoke about the handcuffs is well known in the neighbourhood..while the counterfeit ‘tipstaff’ who smashed the cheque is a dog-fighting publican.
2. (See quot. 1819.)
ΚΠ
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 207 To smash a guinea, note, or other money, is, in a common sense, to procure, or give, change for it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
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n.21795
v.11699v.21801