flotsam and jetsam

English

Noun

flotsam and jetsam (uncountable)

1. (nautical) The remains of a shipwreck still floating in the water.
2. (nautical) That which has been discharged from a ship or boat, especially on the ocean or a sea, (flotsam unintentionally and jetsam intentionally).
3. (figuratively) A collection of miscellaneous items or fragments of little importance.
4. (figuratively) People considered to be of little worth.

   The flotsam and jetsam of society were at the night club.

Synonyms

• (random assortment): bits and bobs, bits and pieces, dribs and drabs, odds and ends, odds and sods, bric-a-brac
• (items or persons of little worth): dregs

Translations

things discharged from ships

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 海难碎片 (hǎinàn suìpiàn), 搁浅的垃圾

• German: Treibgut und Strandgut n