bonkbustern.
/ˈbɒŋkˌbʌstə/, U.S. /ˈbɑŋkˌbəstər/, /ˈbɔŋkˌbəstər/ Chiefly British (colloquial and humorous).
A type of popular novel characterized by frequent explicit descriptions of sexual encounters between the characters. Also: a film or television programme of this nature.Popularized by the British writer Sue Limb (b. 1946), writing under the pseudonym ‘Dulcie Domum’, in her humorous newspaper column ‘Bad Housekeeping’ (1988–2001): see quot. 1988.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > novel > [noun] > romantic novel > sexually explicit
bodice-ripper1979
bonkbuster1988
1988 ‘Dulcie Domum’ in Guardian 24 Dec. (Weekend Suppl.) 6/4 Publisher..[enquires] about progress of blockbuster. Or as spouse now refers to it, bonk-buster... Grab pen, and whisk Charlotte Beaminster from jacuzzi to bathroom window, from which she glimpses new gardener: stocky, balding Slav, with magnetic eyes and masterful manner with turnips. Feel at last bonkbuster is on the road.
1991 Daily Express 7 Feb. 26/4 This is 1991's first bonkbuster, offering us refined versions of sexual perversions that the author's passe rival Jackie Collins could only dream about.
2003 Radio Times 13 Sept. (Midlands ed.) 98/1 Beautifully filmed and beautifully acted, this is much classier and more satisfying than your average bonkbuster.
2008 H. McQueen Glamorous (Double) Life of Isabel Bookbinder (2009) 56 I may not have a whole bonkbuster yet, but I've got a direct line to a top literary agent.
Compounds
General attributive and objective, as bonkbuster novel, bonkbuster writer, etc.
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1989 Daily Mail 25 May 30/6 Andrew Davies..could, without doubt, teach the bonkbuster writers a thing or two.
1997 Independent 17 Mar. i. 6/6 (caption) With a couple of bonkbuster books to her credit and a high profile, she won't be short of work.
2003 E. Noble Reading Group 248 A story cobbled together from a thousand made-for-television movies, bonkbuster novels and a romantic's heart.
2017 Guardian (Nexis) 6 Oct. For the second book, my editor pushed me towards bonkbuster style, and I had lots of sex scenes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1988