burst, v.¹ — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

burst v.¹

1. to beat up, to defeat; usu. as a threat, e.g. I’ll burst him!

1690		‘Teague’ Teagueland Jests I 122: Some stuft with Aqua Tetra-Chymagogon, and other hard Names, that would burst a Conjuror.
1833		‘True Principles of Milling’ in Corinthian in Spedding & Watt (eds) Bawdy Songbooks (2011) IV 57: Like a great log, never fall on your for / [...] / Nor e’er burst the man that you can never beat.
1874		‘Old Calabar’ Won in a Canter III 11: ‘[L]et bim go to the fore; but come again half a mile from home and burst him’.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Apr. 12/3: ‘Colonel, have your troops kept the provisions safe?’ […] ‘Safe as a house, Sir Gerald – they have them concealed about their persons!’ Sir Gerald (aloud): ‘Noble fellows!’ (Aside): ‘The devil burst them!’.
1943		(con. 1850s) G.A. Little Malachi Horan Remembers 23: ‘There’s Him that will punish you better than the law.’ He warned his men: ‘Don’t burst or tell.’.
1966		T. Keyes All Night Stand 123: Sit down or I’ll bleedin’ bairst ya.
1979		H. Leonard A Life (1981) Act I: Me da’ll find out and burst me.
1988		R. Doyle Commitments 107: I have to go home. – Me ma will burst me.
1996		(con. 1970) G. Moxley Danti-Dan in McGuinness Dazzling Dark I v: So watch your face or I’ll burst you.
2005		P. Howard Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightdress 241: I’ll fooken boorst ye for dat.
2014		T. Black Artefacts of the Dead [ebook] Don’t even think about that, because I’ll burst your face wide open if you’re lying to me.

2. (US campus) to fail an examination.

1856

B.H. Hall College Words (rev. edn) 49: burst. To fail in reciting; to make a bad recitation.

3. to spend one’s money lavishly, to go out on a spree.

1842		Whip & Satirist of NY & Brooklyn (NY) 5 Nov. n.p.: the whip wants to knowWhether Cutler and Charley did swear they would burst it as much as they pleased [...] Go it young ’uns .
1984		Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 161/1: from ca. 1890.

SE in slang uses

In phrases

burst a cheque (v.) (also bust a cheque)

(Aus.) to go on a spending spree.

c.1890		‘Prince Albert’s Fashion’ at warrenfahey.com 🌐 They never bust or blue their cheques / At shanties on the track.
1900–10		Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 33: ‘Busting a cheque’ is not necessarily going on the debauch or booze. A man might burst up his cheque with the store-keeper. The sense of bust is to break up or cash the cheque, but is mostly understood as leaving the cheque with the publican till he says it is spent.

burst in someone’s crust (v.)

see under crust n.¹

burst one’s boiler (v.)

see under boiler n.¹

burst one’s soul-case (v.)

see under soul-case n.

burst one’s stay-lace (v.) [SE stay, the precursor of the corset]

to become over-excited or over-emotional.

1909

J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era.

In exclamations

burst him! (also burst her!)

an excl. of annoyance, confound him! the hell with her! etc.

1902

H. Baumann Londinismen (2nd edn).

burst me bagpipes!

(US black teen) an excl. of surprise, astonishment, annoyance etc.

1995

R. Littlehales ‘A Secretary’s Duties- a Ducktales story’ on LambdaPsiPhi 🌐 Dictate something?! Young woman, you have got to be But – but – you couldn’t possibly have written – Burst me bagpipes!

burst v.1

SE in slang uses

In phrases

In exclamations

burst v.¹