When traveling for example, a vehicle window might have painted on, "To FL or bust." What does "or bust" mean?
2007-08-01 08:32:22 · 7 answers · asked by Melanie K 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
i believe it means you are going to get there no matter what it takes.
2007-08-01 08:41:17 · answer #1 · answered by bellavirgo79 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
"California or bust" is the archetypical phrase, model for so many imitations. The Great Plains of the U.S. were struck, in the 1930's, with two catastrophes: drought and the Great Depression. So many dirt farmers were left with no dirt, just dust and debt, in the wind storms destroying their farms, that some of them headed west on Route 66 towards what they hoped would be greener pastures in California, the "Golden State". Some of them had signs "California or bust" on their shabby jalopies and trucks, loaded with their families and few possessions, as sometimes shown in newsreels. When they got there many were known as Okies, having started in Oklahoma. See Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" (1939) for more about the Okies and their trek. Not all of the Okies were lifted up once they reached California, and there are still pockets of people referred to as Okies by other Californians.
As for "bust," I suppose they meant they were going to bust their guts trying, and failure would be complete. At any rate, it was a popular slogan of the time, no longer in vogue. You could say, for instance, "No. 1 or bust." A similar phrase was "... or nothing," as in "complete success or nothing."
Sort of like saying, we'll get to our destination or die trying.
2007-08-01 08:55:49 · answer #2 · answered by RE 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Bust essentially means running out of gas, money or whatever. It means the person is determined to get there at all costs.
2007-08-01 08:43:53 · answer #3 · answered by fangtaiyang 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Don't weigh yourself down with possessions and luggage. Take your sense of adventure, your curiosity, and maybe a few clean pairs of underwear. This will allow to move quickly and quietly and focus on the new world in front of you not the junk you are lugging behind you.
2016-05-20 01:42:39 · answer #4 · answered by leta 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Or bust = to go bankrupt trying to get there
2007-08-01 08:43:12 · answer #5 · answered by Gin Martini 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
in the scenario you describe, it would mean
headed to Florida, or wherver the heck we break down, run out of money, etc
For a hichhiker, they would be busted wherever the person giving them a ride happened to be going.
2007-08-01 08:44:25 · answer #6 · answered by zanthus 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's like saying or no where.
2007-08-01 08:41:03 · answer #7 · answered by Cristi H 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋