shrapnel vs torpedo

shrapnel

noun
  • An anti-personnel artillery shell used in World War I which carries a large number of individual bullets close to the target and then ejects them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually. 

  • The bullets from the aforementioned type of artillery shell. 

  • A collective term for shot, fragments, or debris thrown out by an exploding shell, bomb or landmine. 

  • Debris. 

  • Loose change. 

torpedo

noun
  • A similar projectile that can travel through space. 

  • A professional gunman or assassin. 

  • An electric ray of the genus Torpedo. 

  • A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet, which explodes when thrown upon a hard object. 

  • A small explosive device attached to the top of the rail to provide an audible warning when a train passes over it. 

  • A thick marijuana cigarette. 

  • A cigarette containing marijuana and crack cocaine. 

  • A submarine sandwich. 

  • An automobile with a streamlined profile and a folding or detachable soft top, and having the hood or bonnet line raised to be level with the car's waistline, resulting in a straight beltline from front to back. 

  • A woman's shoe with a pointed toe. 

  • A cylindrical explosive projectile that can travel underwater and is used as a weapon. 

  • A large breast; a breast with a large nipple. 

verb
  • To sink (a ship) with one or more torpedoes. 

  • To strike (a ship) with one or more torpedoes. 

  • To undermine or destroy any endeavor with a stealthy, powerful attack. 

How often have the words shrapnel and torpedo occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )