blast n.1
1. (also blasting) a severe reprimand, a verbal attack.
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Life in Boston & N.Y. (Boston, MA) 14 Apr. n.p.: Who gave Ada Dean a ‘blast’ as she left the Howard? | |
| letter 4 Sept. Letters (1917) I 226: I gave the P.O. Department a blast in the papers. | |
| Cincinnati Enquirer 7 Sept. 10/7: Blast–Adverse newspaper criticism, for which they [i.e. actors] threaten to kill the editor. | |
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | (con. WWI) Soldier and Sailor Words 271: Stop A Blast, To: To receive a rebuke or reprimand from a superior. | |
| Asphalt Jungle in Four Novels (1984) 123: No longer able to ignore the blasts and now thoroughly aroused. | |
| One Lonely Night 39: Even a blast in the papers couldn’t smear him for that. | |
| Mad mag. Oct. 4: I thought I’d give you a blast and clue in your continuity department. | |
| letter 16 May in Leader (2000) 716: On the question of the decline in standards I shall need a little more time and space to grapple with you. I hope to let you have an extended blast on this topic shortly. | |
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | Outcasts of Foolgarah (1975) 20: Chilla staggered in, sorry loving [...] and wondering why he wasn’t copping a blast. | |
![[Can]](/static/img/flags/can.png "Canada") | Totally True Diaries of an Eighties Roller Queen 🌐 15 July I talked to Tracey today. She said she wasn’t allowed out and then her mom phoned and asked me for the number of this girl who is friends with Tracey and I (Marlene). Apparently, that’s where Tracey was!! I’m going to give her a blast when I get a hold of her. Bitch. | |
| Now You Know 118: Even Jacqui’s blast at Tina and Donna’s done a bit of good. | |
| diary 11 Jan. Smiling in Slow Motion (2000) 290: Rang Gingerbits in Canterbury and gave him a blasting. |
2. an armed (bank) robbery.
| Amer. Mercury May 80: He came out of K.C. hot from the P.O. blast [W&F]. | |
| Rap Sheet 114: We talked things over [...] and decided the best thing to do was set up another blast – that’s what we sometimes called our jobs – just as soon as we could. | |
| Cool Man 50: ‘And maybe there’s a few other things you don’t know about this blast. Maybe there was eight instead of seven’. |
3. constr. with the, murder .
| Mute Witness (1997) 134: The way I figured it, you was more interested in the time [...] this Rossi – Johnny Rossi, I mean – was getting the blast. |
4. the consumption of drink or drugs.
(a) (drugs) an injection or inhalation of a narcotic drug, and the immediate effect.
| (con. 1948) Flee the Angry Strangers 364: I want a blast, I want it quick [...] I want it main line for one blast. | |
| Return of the Hood 29: He had told Lisa he was hurting for a blast. | |
| Nam (1982) 169: Every time the kid tried to open his eyes [...] we just gave him a blast of morphine. | |
| Crackhouse 80: Watching users, it is clear that they try very hard to maintain the intense part of the high, the ‘blast’. | |
| (con. 1985–90) In Search of Respect 79: Let me tell you about one time when I was on a mission [crack binge]. I wanted a blast. | |
| Candy 8: I want to have a nice blast, and she’s been using for almost a week, so I make it a good amount. | |
![[NZ]](/static/img/flags/nz.png "New Zealand") | Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 20/1: blast n. 1 an injection of intravenous drugs, e.g. heroin, morphine, temgesics. |
(b) (US) a drink of liquor.
 | Dean Harris 21 Apr. [US radio] Maybe it’s a little early in the day for that first blast [W&F]. | |
| Cujo (1982) 110: ‘You ready for another blast?’ Joe held out his glass. | |
| Widespread Panic 204: [H]e yanked the cap and yodeled a big blast. |
(c) (orig. US) marijuana, a puff of a marijuana cigarette; the effect thereof [note early 16C Scot. blast, a smoke of tobacco].
| Gaudy Image (1966) 155: He had to find a safe place to stash his bundle. [...] Finally he hid the blast in the icebox. | |
| ‘Sex Gang’ in Pulling a Train’ (2012) [ebook] He had simply been after some dough to get a blast of pot. | |
| Underground Dict. (1972). | |
| London Fields 429: They used to give the men a good blast of this before they went out to do their stuff. | |
| Scholar 179: I never take the first blast down, it’s pure paper an’ cigarette. | |
![[Ire]](/static/img/flags/ire.png "Ireland") | Cartoon City 262: ‘Who’s smoking dope?’ she said. Pat proferred the joint. ‘Care for a blast?’. | |
| Grits 121: Av got sum [i.e. marijuana] already dried inner house. Al give yis a blast. | |
| in Dusted Mag. at Trikont.com 🌐 Poring over these jazz sides now, one gets hep to the mixed emotions that fogged up the tea pad as youngsters of all sorts got their first blast. |
(d) a smoke of a crack pipe.
| Crackhouse 146: blast – powerful puff from a freebase pipe. | |
| Monster (1994) 258: Lep had fallen victim to the new enemy – crack – and was doing everthing and anything to get a blast. | |
| ‘Megablast’ from album Yo! Bum Rush The Show 🎵 Ya should have kept yo ass away from that blast / MEGABLAST! | |
| Workin’ It 111: They really want a hit of crack. So it’s like ‘Come on, do what we gonna do here, so I can still go and get my blast’. | |
| ? (Pronounced Que) [ebook] Chuck was hungry for a blast. |
(e) (N.Z. drugs) heroin.
| ‘Boob Jargon’ in NZEJ 13 28: blast n. Heroin - a Class A morphine-based opiate derivative. | |
| Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 20/1: blast n. 2 heroin. |
5. a telephone call.
| Jailhouse Rock [film script] If you ever come to Riverport, how about giving me a blast on the phone? | |
| (con. 1950s–60s) in Little Legs 192: blast a telephone call. |
6. (US prison, also blasting) a false rumour.
| Across the Board 240: Touts were allowed to advertise winners they did not have. This was called ‘blasting,’ ‘dynamiting,’ or ‘bulldogging’. | |
| Gonif 60: Is there a blast, or are you going to the Big Rock? |
7. a thrill, a very good time.
| Broadway I My Beat 20 Dec. U.S. Radio play: You get a blast takin’ care of me, givin’ me presents [W&F]. | |
| Chocolates for Breakfast 188: You’ll know the whole crowd. It’s going to be a real blast. | |
| Affairs of Gidget 66: We’ll be havin’ a blast! | |
| Hell’s Angels (1967) 48: What a blast! Man, I tell you we had some real beefs. | |
| Pimp 125: Ain’t nothing a greater blast than ‘horse’. | |
| Harper’s Mag. July 37: Meyer himself had a blast. | |
| Great Santini (1977) 202: You will have yourself a blast. | |
| Totally True Diaries of an Eighties Roller Queen 🌐 31 Oct. We went to the pool hall and then downtown to get our tickets for the Rocky Horror Picture Show [...] It was a blast. Toast, egg, toilet paper, rice, etc. was thrown throughout the movie. | |
| et al. Wayne’s World [film script] It would be such a blast for you guys to reach half-a-million homes. | |
| Indep. on Sun. Real Life 11 July 3: It’s more fun this way. You meet all your friends and it’s a blast. | |
| Indep. Rev. 21 Jan. 13: I had been touring with these guys for three months and having a blast. | |
| ‘Amands Gets Zipped’ 🌐 It was a blast. Those guys know how to have fun. | |
| Call of the Weird (2006) 127: I’m having a blast. | |
| ‘Hot Rod Heart’ in Life During Wartime 123: ‘Anytime, Red. It was a blast’. | |
| Life’s Too Short 212: Every day is a trip. Completely joyful. I’m having such a blast, I want to pinch myself. |
8. a wild, uproarious party.
| ‘Wayne University Sl.’ AS XXX:4 302: big blast [...] n. A drinking party. | |
| All Night Stand 118: They were having a few people over to their flat for a sort of blast. | |
| (con. 1950s) ‘The Fifties’ in Eisen Age of Rock 2 (1970) 101: Have a blast. Really hairy. Going ape. | |
| ‘Razorback Sl.’ in AS L:1/2 53: blast ‘good party’. | |
| Wiseguy (2001) 136: There were more than enough wiseguys around to fuel an all-night blast. | |
| Chopper From The Inside 196: Had the automatic weapons been forthcoming, the 1977 dockies’ Christmas party would have been a blast in every sense of the word. | |
| Powder 151: Good blast, though, eh? | |
| Finders Keepers (2016) 226: They are having a blast. |
9. (US) a lie.
| Hy Lit’s Unbelievable Dict. of Hip Words 40: that’s no blast – That’s the truth and you know Hy, he don’t lie; so believe it! |
10. something funny, amusing.
| ‘The Whole Truth’ in New Stories from the Twilight Zone 21: Wouldn’t that be a blast. | |
| Dear ‘Herm’ 93: Your addresses are a blast! |
11. an admirable person.
| ‘Gravy Train’ in Pronzini & Adrian Hard-Boiled (1995) 502: Lizzie’s a blast: she’s smart, tender, funny and gives great skull. | |
| Clueless [film script] Not that Christian wasn’t a blast to hang out with. He was becoming one of my favourite shopping partners. |
12. (US black) a song.
| Juba to Jive 41: Blast n. [1990s] any song, especially of rap or rock music. |
13. (US drugs) cocaine.
| Post-Star (Glen Falls, NY) 3 Aug. 18/5: There are many slang terms for cocaine [...] big C, blanco, blast, [...] girl, heaven, Mama Coca, [...] pimp, she [...] toot, trains, stardust. |
In compounds
(orig. US black) a party where the guests smoke marijuana (in preference to drinking).
| Grand Dictionnaire d’Americanismes. | |
| N.Y. Times Mag. 16 May 87: Blast party—Get-together of marijuana smokers. | |
| , | | DAS. |
| Drugs from A to Z (1970). | |
| Underground Dict. (1972). |
In phrases
(US Und.) to be shot to death.
| Mute Witness (1997) 134: The way I figured it, you was more interested in the time [...] this Rossi – Johnny Rossi, I mean – was getting the blast. |
1. (also put someone on blast) to attack verbally, to criticize severely.
| ‘Romance in the Roaring Forties’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 33: Miss Missouri Martin gets hold of Miss Billy Perry and puts the blast on her plenty. | |
| We Are the Public Enemies 41: He made certain remarks about the raiding party and then went back to his paper and put the blast on the Federals. | |
| Jocks 24: John Blanchard, a catcher, took the opportunity to put the blast on the old man. ‘He’s a goddam louse’. | |
| Teen Lingo: The Source for Youth Ministry 🌐 putting me on blast to be publicly disciplined or to have someone raise their voice at you. Similar to ‘putting someone on the spot.’ ‘Why was that teacher putting me on blast?’. | |
| Riker’s 403: I spoke out against Dora Schriro, the commissioner at the time. And I put Joseph Ponte on blast. |
2. to betray, to inform on; to become vulnerable to betrayal.
| High Sierra in Four Novels (1984) 309: The fix slipped and a screw put the blast on me. | |
| Corruption Officer [ebk] cap. 45: I had a long run probably because Flocko was here fighting his case but now dealing with these other inmates has put me on blast. |
3. to shoot dead.
| Cool Customer 92: They would not put the blast on a man in a hospital. | |
| Criminal Sl. (rev. edn). | |
| Long Good-Bye 144: ‘Next time,’ the enormous man yelled, ‘I sure as hell put the blast on you, and believe me, boy, you’ll be holding a gun when they pick you up.’. |
SE in slang uses
In phrases
(orig. US) anything that, or anyone who, causes nostalgia, esp. a piece of music or a popular song.
| Esquire July 44: Murray the K [...] has blasts from the past. | |
| Ladies’ Man (1985) 156: Blast from the past my ass. It was fading, going. | |
| Stand (1990) 840: A golden goody, the DJs called it. A Blast from the Past. | |
| Brown’s Requiem 76: Franklin and Argyle was a blast from my past; one of the big ones. | |
| Therapy (1996) 164: I suppose this is what disc-jockeys call a blast from the past. | |
| Indep. Rev. 27 June 7: Now that was a blast from the past. Sometimes you do things deliberately to feel young again. | |
| Guardian 18 Dec. 18/5: I was incompetently libelled, in a blast from the past, by Gillian McKeith . |