smashing
adjective

- extremely good, attractive, enjoyable, or pleasant (chiefly British)

Cambridge Dictionary

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ORIGIN

As a synonym for wonderful, smashing first appeared in early 20th-century USA, and possibly derives from the sense of smash used in “a smash hit” and similar terms.

Popular folk etymology connects the term to the 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 most dictionaries.

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WHO WAS SMASHING GOOD?

Whilst performing at a London club one evening in 1965, Pete Townshend of the rock group "The Who" whirled around and accidentally slammed his guitar against the low ceiling. When he realised that he had broken the instrument’s neck, he smashed it against the ground and rammed the remnants into an amplifier.

The crowd went wild and instrument-smashing promptly became a standard part of their act. Unfortunately, with the band smashing about £700 worth of equipment every night (and earning £500), finances quickly became an issue. “We’d come out ahead,” John Entwistle screamed one day, “just by not showing up!”

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SYNONYMS

a class act, excellent, wonderful, great, marvellous, fantastic, superb, amazing, glorious, grand, magnificent, phenomenal, awesome, splendid, stellar, sublime, fabulous, sensational, terrific, brilliant, delightful, fantabulous, cracking, divine, super, topping, tremendous, heavenly, dandy, fab, peachy, swell, wicked, spanking, corking, beaut, ripping, spiffing, ace, amazeballs, capital, champion, gorgeous, magic, marvy, wizard, brill, mega, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, far out, jim-dandy, out of this world, mind-blowing, top-hole, outstanding, first-rate, first-class, superlative, dandy, exceptional, top-notch, tip-top, sterling, unsurpassed, crackerjack, dynamite, topflight, primo, gilt-edged, top-shelf, prizewinning, extraordinary, frontline, out-of-sigh, top-of-the-line, spectacular, five-star, par excellence, supreme, exquisite, blue-ribbon, incredible, bodacious, number one, numero uno, peachy keen, peerless, stupendous, dazzling, world-class, stunning, breathtaking, eminent, unreal, SMASHING, swell, splendiferous, formidable, exemplary, masterly, applaudable, consummate, unparalleled, virtuoso, pre-eminent, of the first water, awe-inspiring, astonishing, sovereign, prodigious, out of sight, meritorious, colossal, awesomesauce, staggering, incomparable, transcendent, rapturous, standout, super-duper, to die for, epic, jaw-dropping, mind-boggling, solid gold, best ever, second to none, priceless, superhuman, overwhelming, historic, quintessential, genius, beyond compare, cat’s pajamas, Olympian, big league, earthshaking, gee-whizz, laureate, epoch-making, record breaking, beyond words, intoxicating, monster, mind-bending, spine-tingling, blockbusting, rip-roaring, fairy-tale, the bee’s knees, the cat’s meow

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Hey,… you look SMASHING in that blue jumper!”

“We had a SMASHING time together at the exhibitions… let’s do it again!”

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Paul Smith