mermaids' tears

alternative mermaid's tears

1. colloquialpluralplural onlySmall plastic pellets, or nurdles, found as marine pollutants.
2. colloquialpluralplural onlySmall rounded pieces of sea glass.

   I hadn't known how thirsty I was for the ocean until we found this beach near Victoria—not really beautiful, but diverse—a stretch of oddities, buttons of wood, mermaids' tears (glass fragments rubbed smooth), stones of worn-down brick.

   2000, Luci Shaw, God in the Dark: Through Grief and Beyond, page 263

   1 more example

   […] glass and shells in the sand than gazing at the blue horizon. Seashells, round pebbles, driftwood—these natural materials are more precious to me than expensive jewels. I love hunting for "mermaids' tears"—pieces of broken glass that […]

   2021, Young-Ran Lee, Create Dream Catchers, page 41