Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) failure, ruin, a ‘smash-up’.

1963		T.I. Rubin Sweet Daddy 96: So, bang, his heart gives with a bust-out [HDAS].
1966		H.S. Thompson Hell’s Angels 98: A maniacal top-speed run at a curve that’s a guaranteed bust-out at anything over fifty.
1971		W. Murray Dream Girls 79: ‘They’re not bustouts. They’re working actors and directors.’ ‘Bustouts. Losers.’.
1991		C. Fletcher Pure Cop 113: Most pimps are bust-outs. They’re dopers. Their lives get worse and worse.
2004		R. Cooley When Corruption Was King 91: ‘You always thought that I was a bust-out and a loser [...] but look at this [i.e. a boxful of cash].