flinders

Everyday

1. Small broken pieces or splinters, as in «smashed to flinders». tree →
2. (a name) Matthew Flinders, an English navigator who sailed round Australia in 1801–1803; many places are named after him, such as the Flinders Ranges and Flinders Street in Melbourne. tree →

In the lessons

The phrase «in flinders» or «to flinders» is an old way of saying smashed to bits; it appears in older stories about wrecks and crashes. In Australian geography and history, Flinders is a famous name.

Examples

• The boat hit the rocks and was smashed to flinders. tree →
• The old chair broke into flinders. tree →
• Matthew Flinders was the first to sail all the way round Australia. tree →
• We went walking in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. tree →
• The car crash left the cart in flinders. tree →
• Flinders Street Station is in the centre of Melbourne. tree →

Note

Old-fashioned; today people say «smithereens» or «splinters». Used in the plural only («to flinders»). As a name, it takes a capital F.