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buster

noun
/ˈbʌstɚ/US/ˈbʌstə/UK

Etymology

Originally a dialectal variant of burster; later influenced by bust + -er. The combining form of the term has appeared from the early 20th century but been especially prolific during three periods: in the 1930s, owing to the success of the radio series Gang Busters; in the 1940s, owing to its appearance as military slang; and in the 1980s, owing to the success of the movie Ghostbusters.

  1. derived from apostema
  2. derived from Buste

Definitions

  1. Someone who or something that bursts, breaks, or destroys a specified thing.

    • Now death, I pray thee what is it, but a buster of bonds; a destruction of toyle?
    • Rothlin was described... by the papers as the buster of the bandit ring.

  2. Forming compounds denoting a team, weapon, or device specialized in the destruction of…

    Forming compounds denoting a team, weapon, or device specialized in the destruction of the first element.

    • German ‘balloon busters’ attack the Dover barrage.
    • Our main purpose in further experimentation with nuclear bombs is not... to make city-busters more horrible.

  3. Someone who or something that 'breaks', tames, or overpowers a specified person or thing.

    • The buster must be careful to keep well away from sheds and timber.
    • Some busters caught their horses for the first time over the head, and snubbed or choked them until they fell gasping.
  4. ›+ 11 more definitions

    1. Someone or something remarkable, especially for being loud, large, etc.

      • ‘I had to clean this old roarer,’ continued the ‘editor’... as he wiped the barrel of his pistol. ‘She's a buster, I tell you.’
      • What a buster of a lunch it turned out to be.

    2. A loaf of bread.

      • Three penny busters, and a whole kit-full of winegar and mustard.
      • An 8oz. loaf of brown bread... goes by the name of ‘buster’, I suppose on account of the way they blow you out.

    3. A drinking spree, a binge.

      • They were on a buster, and were taken up by the police.
      • All off for a buster, armstrong, hollering down the street.

    4. A gale, a strong wind

      A gale, a strong wind; (especially Australia) a southerly buster.

      • ‘This is a buster,’ i.e. a powerful or heavy wind.
      • The Buster and Brickfielder: austral red-dust blizzard and red-hot Simoom.
      • When the barometer drops rapidly... watch out for a strong sou'wester. A buster can be on you in a flash.

    5. A heavy fall

      A heavy fall; (also performing arts) a staged fall, a pratfall.

      • Dainty... came down ‘a buster’ at the last hurdle, and Scots Grey cantered in by himself.

    6. A molting crab.

      • In that state he is called a ‘Buster’, bursting his shell.
      • Restaurant August... serves contemporary French cuisine prepared with Louisiana ingredients like buster crabs, shrimp and oysters.

    7. A cheat's die whose sides bear only certain combinations of spots, so that undesirable…

      A cheat's die whose sides bear only certain combinations of spots, so that undesirable values can never be rolled.

      • Tops and Bottoms (also Tops, Busters, Ts, Mis-spots): These are the dice used by the professional cheats.
      • To make six-eight, natural dice, or busters, he would take unspotted dice and then grind and color only the spots he wanted.

    8. A surname.

    9. A male given name.

    10. A male nickname.

    11. Synonym of guy, term of address for a man or person.

      • Set this straight, Buster. I'm not here to say "please." I'm here to tell you want to do. And if self-preservation is an instinct you possess, you better fuckin' do it and do it quick.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for buster. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA