English Dictionary

Definition of “bunbury”

bunbury (ˈbʌnbərɪ) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms:  -buries, -burying, -buried
  1. to create a fictitious scenario that provides an excuse for avoiding unwanted engagements

Word Origin

Coined by Oscar Wilde in The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

Comments

Comment bykalayzich on 24 Sep 2012

Are you publishing this in the lower case intentionally? The original submission was a proper noun.

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Comment byCollins Dictionary (Admin) on 7 Sep 2012

'bunbury' definition based on an original suggestion by jcowburn made on 2012-07-20.

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