blunderbuss
Americannoun
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a short musket of wide bore with expanded muzzle to scatter shot, bullets, or slugs at close range.
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an insensitive, blundering person.
noun
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an obsolete short musket with large bore and flared muzzle, used to scatter shot at short range
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informal a clumsy unsubtle person
Etymology
Origin of blunderbuss
1645–55; < Dutch donderbus (equivalent to donder thunder + bus gun, box 1 ) with donder replaced by blunder. See harquebus
Explanation
A blunderbuss is an old-fashioned shotgun with a flare at the end of its muzzle. The blunderbuss was one of the most widely-used weapons from the 17th to the 19th centuries. A shorter, handgun-style blunderbuss was called a "dragon." Both this and the shotgun type blunderbuss were loaded with lead balls, or "shot," and used in military operations and even taken along on the early 1800s Lewis and Clark expedition. Blunderbuss comes from the Dutch roots donder, "thunder," and bus, "gun." Another kind of blunderbuss is a bumbling, unsubtle, or oafish action: "The blunderbuss police operation did nothing but infuriate the protesters."
Vocabulary lists containing blunderbuss
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But that profusion itself has a moral point: it represents—as all the adventures of September and A-through-L and Blunderbuss represent—the role of play, of free invention, and of apparently pointless creative pursuits.
From The New Yorker • Jun. 7, 2016
Azar, Autolux's percussionist, toured with Jack White's band in support of "Blunderbuss" and "Lazaretto" and has collaborated with PJ Harvey, Wendy & Lisa, T Bone Burnett, Vincent Gallo and others.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2015
White's nominations, Blunderbuss is up for album of the year and best rock album, and Freedom at 21 is nominated for best rock song.
From The Guardian • Feb. 8, 2013
"Blunderbuss," a little bit whimsical, a little bit menacing, offered all the things we'd hoped we'd find, plus a few surprises.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2012
No way I can outtalk Old Blunderbuss, especially now that my moment has passed.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
