buster

noun

1. (colloquial)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. (slang)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.”

   “B-2 bombers are the only plane capable of carrying the Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which experts have highlighted as the only type of bomb potentially capable of destroying Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility. Each B-2 bomber is able to carry two of these “bunker buster” bombs, which weigh an impressive 30,000 pounds each.”

   “The bombs used in the strikes were GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrators, known as a “bunker busters,” two sources familiar with the operation said.”

3. (US, colloquial, dated, slang)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. (colloquial, slang)Someone who or something that 'breaks', tames, or overpowers a specified person or thing.

   “Men nicknamed him the ‘Booze Buster’, and cartoonists loved to picture him, revolver in hand,... fighting the demon rum.”

   “The professional fraud-busters [of the art world].”

   “New York City traffic agents have become Gridlock Busters and cigarette foes are smokebusters.”

5. (dated, slang)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.”

6. (colloquial, dated, slang)Someone or something remarkable, especially for being loud, large, etc.

   “That's generous, old buster.”

   “An extremely wealthy old buster.”

   “Calvin: I'm going to watch TV all night. Mom: That's what you think, buster!”

   “‘Careful, buster,’ she said. ‘I've got a knife in my hand.’”

7. (obsolete, slang)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.”

8. (obsolete, slang)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.”

9. (dated, slang)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.”

10. (Australia, New-Zealand)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.”

11. (US, regional)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.”

12. (slang)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.”

name

1. A surname.
2. A male given name.
3. A male nickname.
4. (colloquial)Synonym of guy, term of address for a man or person.

   “Beginning with a curt “Listen, Buster,” she proceeded to sketch out with admirable clearness the salient points in the situation as she envisaged it [...] “I thought she was splendidly firm.” “Yes, sir.” “It's the red hair that does it, I imagine.” “Yes, sir.” “If anyone had told me that I should live to hear Aubrey Upjohn addressed as ‘Buster’ ...””

   “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.”