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 c. 1880. Broadside Ballad, 'Taking out the Baby.' Spoken—And they had all been taking out the baby, and all had had such a doing—that boy o' mine nearly busted me—and of course they all think they deserve a glass of beer.

6. (American.)—To indulge in a drunken frolic; to go on the spree. Cf., To go on the bust.

1869. New Orleans Picayune, Feb. 14. 'Because I was a good-natured fellow, I had to go with them, rollicking, teaparting, excursioning, and busting generally.

7. (American.)—To destroy; to commit suicide; to 'set aside'; to expose.

1880. Bret Harte, Chiquita, p. 22. Did you know Briggs of Tuolumne? Busted hisself in White Pine, and blew out is brains.

1883. North of England Advertiser, Sept. 1. Then he got the Moabite pottery which Mr. Clement Ganneau busted.

Bust me! phr. (common).—A mild oath—blow me! jigger me! (q.v.)—See also Oaths.

1859. Dickens, Tale of Two Cities, bk. I., ch. iii. 'Bust me if I don't think he'd been a drinking!'

To go on the bust, phr. (common).—To go on a frolic or spree. For synonyms, see Paint the town red.

Buster, subs. (common).—1. A small new loaf; also a coarse cake or bun of large size that fills or blows out the stomach of the eater. [From bust, a vulgar form of 'burst,' + er.] Cf., Starver.

1821. W. T. Moncrieff, Tom and Jerry, Act ii., Sc. 3. Bob: Now, land-*lord, 'arter that ere drap of max, suppose we haves a drain o' heavy wet, just by way of cooling our chaffers—mine's as dry as a chip—and, I say, do you hear, let's have a twopenny burster, half a quartern of beesvax, a ha'p'orth o' ingens, and a dollop o' salt along vith it, vill you? Mace: Bellay! a burster and beesvax—and salt here. (Calling as he fetches the porter from the side wing, L.) Now, then, here you are, Master Grimmuzzle.

1841. Comic Almanacks, 1835-43 (Hotten), p. 295.

Cut us a slap-up slice of Cheshire cheese, And tip's a twopenny burster if you please.'

1849. Bell's Life. [From Baumann.] A burster with a slice of beeswax.

1876. Hindley, Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, p. 192. Mo and his man were having a great breakfast one morning at Newcastle, off a twopenny buster and a small bit of butter, with some wishy-washy coffee

c. 1882. Broadside Ballad, 'I can't get at it.

I can't get at it, I can't get at it, I like the faggots tho' they smell, But now the penny's down the well, I can't get at it, I can't get at it, I thought I'd have a 'buster' but it's all no go!

2. (thieves'.)—A burglar. For synonyms, see Area-sneak. Cf., Bust, subs., sense 2, and verb, sense 2.

1879. J. W. Horsley, 'Autobiography of a Thief,' in Macm. Mag., XL., 582. Busters and screwsmen (burglars).

3. (common.)—Anything of superior size; that has unusual capacity; that causes admiration; a spurt. Hence to 'come an awful buster,' 'to fall heavily,' 'to come a cropper'; 'in for a buster,' prepared, ready or determined for a spree.

1852. H. B. Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, ch. x. 'Lor, Pete,' said Mose, triumphantly, 'han't we got a buster of a breakfast!' at the same time catching at a fragment of the chicken.

1860. Dickens, Great Expectations, ch. vii., p. 28. 'At such time as when your sister is on the Ram-page, Pip,' Joe sank his voice to a whisper, and glanced at the door, 'candour compels fur to admit that she is a Buster.'