ball-bustingadj.
/ˈbɔːlˌbʌstɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈbɔlˌbəstɪŋ/, /ˈbɑlˌbəstɪŋ/ slang (originally U.S.).
= ball-breaking adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > [adjective]
arvethc885
uneathOE
arvethlichc1000
evilc1175
hardc1175
deara1225
derfa1225
illc1330
wickeda1375
uneasy1398
difficul?a1450
difficile?1473
difficulta1527
unready1535
craggy1582
spiny1604
tough1619
uphill1622
shrewda1626
spinousa1638
scabrous1646
spinose1660
rugged1663
cranka1745
tight1764
thraward1818
nasty1828
upstream1847
awkward1860
pricklyc1862
bristling1871
sticky1871
rocky1873
dodgy1898
challengeful1927
solid1943
ball-busting1944
challenging1975
the world > people > person > woman > [adjective] > dominating woman
ball-breaking1959
ball-busting1974
society > authority > strictness > [adjective] > exacting
exigeant1789
exigent1790
exactive1822
exacting1847
sweaty1919
ball-busting1978
1944 W. L. Moore in L. Warfield Fighting Words 92 Connelly was coming to look upon shore patrol as merely a time-killer, a ball-busting detail, something a little less foolish than continual close order drill.
1974 Black World Aug. 11/2 We can begin by seeing what Black women have done with the legendary and romanticized image of the Black woman as Superwoman—bad-talking and ball-busting, strong enough to sustain her family and herself through the hardest conditions.
1978 J. Wambaugh Black Marble xv. 346 Couple a real ball-bustin cops! How bout that!
1994 S. J. Douglas Where Girls Are (1995) ix. 203 Were these our choices, the ball-busting harridan or the doormat?
1998 Rec. Collector Apr. 83/2 We were stuck in America on a ball-busting tour, punching the living daylights out of each other.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1944