David in Austin, Texas, wonders if smithereens, meaning “bits” or “fragments,” as in explode into smithereens, refers to little bits of metal left over from blacksmithing. Actually, the origin of smithereen is uncertain...
fleshing iron n.— «Twelve-year-old Trent Hall watched in fascination as blacksmith Charlie Bradley, of Culloden, W.Va., took a length of hot iron and forged it into a fleshing iron—that’s another name for a big, long fork...