Long, thin, torn pieces of something, or very small amounts.
From Old English 'screade' meaning to cut or strip. Related to 'shred' meaning to tear into pieces. The word has been in English since at least the 1300s.
The phrase 'to shreds' (as in 'torn to shreds') became so powerful that it evolved into slang meaning 'to criticize harshly'—when critics said a performance was 'shredded,' they meant it was torn apart by negative reviews!
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