the.com/shrapnel
named after a man whose great invention was packing a shell with murder confetti
means Fragments of metal scattered by an exploding bomb, shell, or mine — and, loosely, any small bits of loose change rattling in your pocket.
from A genuine eponym: it comes from Henry Shrapnel, a British artillery officer who in the early 19th century devised a hollow shell packed with lead balls and a bursting charge, designed to scatter shot over advancing troops. His name attached first to the 'Shrapnel shell,' then to the deadly fragments themselves. Over time the meaning drifted from the man's purpose-built projectiles to any jagged splinters thrown off by an explosion — and, jokingly, to the coins jingling at the bottom of a bag.
- namesake
- Henry Shrapnel, British officer, perfected it in 1784
- original design
- hollow shell filled with musket balls and powder
- now generic
- means any blast fragment, not Shrapnel's specific round
- surgical legacy
- surgeons often leave fragments in rather than dig them out
- slang
- British troops call loose pocket change shrapnel
battle of the somme — wwi artillery barrage created massive shrapnel casualties; 60,000 british casualties on first day alone (1916)
beirut blast 2020 — august 4 explosion at port killed 218 people, with shrapnel destroying buildings across the city
london blitz — nazi bombing campaign 1940-41 killed 40,000 londoners largely through shrapnel from exploding bombs and anti-aircraft fire