bundobust

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Hindustani بند و بست (band-o-bast) / बंदोबस्त (bandobast), from Classical Persian بند و بست (band-u-bast, “tying and binding”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbʌndəbʌst/

Noun

bundobust (countable and uncountable, plural bundobusts)

  1. (India) A system of discipline; organisation, arrangement, preparation.
    • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, “The Arrest of Lieutenant Golightly”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio, published 2005, page 93:
      He was proud of his faculty of organisation—what we call bundobust.
    • 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 292:
      ‘Hand on my brother whenever suits you. I write to you because he is sure to make a bad bundobust.’

Further reading

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