flotsam and jetsam

Discarded odds and ends, as in Most of our things have been moved to the new house, but there's still some flotsam and jetsam to sort . [Mid-1800s]
Destitute, homeless individuals, as in The mayor was concerned about the flotsam and jetsam of the inner city . [Second half of 1900s] Both words originated in 17th-century sailing terminology. Flotsam literally meant “wreckage or cargo that remains afloat after a ship has sunk.” Jetsam meant “goods thrown overboard from a ship in danger of sinking in order to give it more buoyancy.” Both literal meanings remain current, although the distinction between them is often forgotten.

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After being rescued from the ocean several times Buster spent the rest of the afternoon collecting flotsam and jetsam.

The sifter dumped flotsam—bricks, wiring, barbecue grills, bicycle wheels—in piles to be shipped to landfills upstate.

Once the sand was plowed back onto the beaches, volunteers scoured it for any flotsam that got through the sifting machines.

Debris originally thought to belong to the airplane has turned out to be unrelated flotsam.

We were in hopes they would look upon our boat as flotsam and jetsam, of which there was more or less strewn upon the beach.

The spectators melted away into the gathering mist and rain, a flotsam of black umbrellas.

The flotsam and jetsam of too many sentimental stories and fairy tales were afloat in the child's active mind.

We sometimes wondered whether any of the flotsam thus cast upon the waters ever reached the civilized world.

When the weather cleared again, I don't know how long it was, I crawled down and overhauled the flotsam.

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