Smashing is British for wonderful or excellent: we had a smashing afternoon. It sounds a little old-fashioned, warm and cheerful. People use it for a walk, an outfit, an idea: a picnic sounds smashing. Nobody is breaking anything.
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a smashing + noun; looks / sounds smashing; UK old-fashioned praise
- We had a smashing afternoon at the little railway museum.
- That jacket looks smashing with your blue scarf.
- A picnic by the river sounds smashing; let's bring a blanket.
What changed
First versionI dropped my phone, and now the screen is smashing.
RevisionI dropped my phone, and now the screen is smashed.
Smashing and smashed are easy to confuse because both come from smash. But smashing means wonderful, and a broken screen is smashed. The -ing form describes the effect something has; the -ed form says what happened to it.
Excellent and lovely are neutral alternatives. Brilliant is British praise too, but it sounds more modern.
Your turn
She calls the picnic 'a smashing afternoon' and says she enjoyed every minute. Smashing means ___.
Show the answer
excellent — She enjoyed every minute, so smashing means excellent. Unpleasant contradicts the praise.
Praise a walk, a get-together or an outfit in a friendly British-style comment.
That was a smashing lunch; the conversation carried on long after the plates were cleared.
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