flinders
n. plural-onlyn. very small pieces or splinters that something breaks into when it is smashed. It is usually used in the phrase 'blown to flinders' or 'smashed to flinders'.
n. small fragments, splinters, or shards into which an object is broken. Typically occurs within prepositional phrases describing total destruction.
The glass vase fell and smashed to flinders on the floor.
The old wooden shed was blown to flinders by the force of the explosion.
The heavy oak door was reduced to flinders under the repeated blows of the battering ram, leaving the entrance completely exposed to the elements.
Probably of North Germanic/Scandinavian origin; see flinder.
See flinder.
Pluralia tantum; almost exclusively used in the phrases 'to flinders' or 'into flinders' following verbs of breaking or exploding.