flotsam and jetsam
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flotsam and jetsam
1. Literally, the items that have been lost (flotsam) or discarded (jetsam) from a ship that has capsized or sunk. Investigators are busy picking through all the flotsam and jetsam that washed ashore after the crash. It's heartbreaking that the only remnants from that proud ship and her crew are this flotsam and jetsam. Obviously, there's a lot of flotsam and jetsam. Will it tell us anything about why the boat capsized?
2. Jumbled sundry items. We need to move all the flotsam and jetsam out of these drawers. I mean, cough drops and batteries probably shouldn't be stored together anyway. Sorry, I filled the laundry basket with flotsam and jetsam that needs to go upstairs, just so it would be easier to carry. Can you please clean the flotsam and jetsam off the kitchen counter? Like, why is your wallet in here?
3. Things that are unnecessary or trivial. Imagine all that I could remember if flotsam and jetsam like the lyrics to every Disney song weren't taking up space in my head! After the desk fell apart, we knew that the parts we hadn't used in its assembly were not, in fact, flotsam and jetsam. You should delete this whole section. It's just flotsam and jetsam that distracts from your main argument.
4. Homeless people. City council may have forgotten about our flotsam and jetsam, but some of us still make volunteering at the homeless shelter a priority. Of course she's oblivious to all the flotsam and jetsam in our city—she has plenty of money and power. Right, like one tax increase is actually going to help the flotsam and jetsam here find jobs and permanent shelter.
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Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
flotsam and jetsam
1. Lit. the floating wreckage of a ship and its cargo, or floating cargo deliberately cast overboard to stabilize a ship in a rough sea. All sorts of flotsam and jetsam washed up on the beach.
2. Fig. worthless matter; worthless encumbrances. His mind is burdened with the flotsam and jetsam of many years of poor instruction and lax study habits. Your report would be better if you could get rid of a lot of the flotsam and jetsam and clean up the grammar a bit.
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McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
flotsam and jetsam
1. Discarded odds and ends, as in Most of our things have been moved to the new house, but there's still some flotsam and jetsam to sort . [Mid-1800s]
2. Destitute, homeless individuals, as in The mayor was concerned about the flotsam and jetsam of the inner city. [Second half of 1900s] Both words originated in 17th-century sailing terminology. Flotsam literally meant "wreckage or cargo that remains afloat after a ship has sunk." Jetsam meant "goods thrown overboard from a ship in danger of sinking in order to give it more buoyancy." Both literal meanings remain current, although the distinction between them is often forgotten.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
flotsam and jetsam
Flotsam and jetsam is used to refer to small or unimportant items that are found together, usually in an untidy way. We found cornflake packets, bottles, and all the flotsam and jetsam of the kitchen. Note: The phrase `flotsam and jetsam' was originally used to describe things that were washed onto the shore from the sea, for instance after a shipwreck.
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Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
flotsam and jetsam
useless or discarded objects.Flotsam refers to the wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on or washed up by the sea, while jetsam is unwanted material thrown overboard from a ship and washed ashore. The two nouns are seldom used independently, almost always appearing together in this phrase.
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Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
ˌflotsam and ˈjetsam
1 parts of boats, pieces of wood or rubbish, etc. that are found floating on the sea or along the shore; any kind of rubbish: The beaches are wide and filled with interesting flotsam and jetsam.
2 people who have no home or job and who move from place to place, often rejected by society: Under the bridge, you see the human flotsam and jetsam of a big city.
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Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
flotsam and jetsam
Odds and ends; trash. These words for a ship’s wreckage and cargo floating at sea (flotsam, from the Old French floter, to float) and goods thrown overboard to lighten a ship (jetsam, from the French jeter, to throw) date from the early sixteenth century. Only in the nineteenth century were they used figuratively, for odds and ends of things as well as for human vagrants. Several twentieth-century humorists punned on them, including the poet Ogden Nash (No Doctors Today, Thank You, 1942): “Does anybody want any flotsam? I’ve gotsam. Does anybody want any jetsam? I’ll getsam.”
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The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer