- smash (v.)
- 1778, "break to pieces," earlier "kick downstairs" (c.1700), probably of imitative origin (cf. smack, mash). Smash-up "collision" is recorded from 1856; smash-and-grab is first attested 1927.
- smash (n.)
- 1839, "failure, financial collapse," from smash (v.). Tennis sense is from 1882. Meaning "great success" is from 1923 ("Variety" headline, Oct. 16, in reference to Broadway productions of "The Fool" and "The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly").