'bus

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bus"

English

Noun

'bus (plural 'busses or 'buses)

1. Archaic spelling of bus (originally a contraction of omnibus).
   • 1868, “The Omnibus System in London, Past and Present”, in Cassell’s Magazine, page 439, column 2:

     As the Londoner may have observed, a pair of horses only goes one journey, and as the omnibus generally does four journeys, each conveyance, with its rest horses, requires ten animals. The three-horse ’buses require thirteen each.

   • 1900, Kate Douglas Wiggin, “Tuppenny Travels in London”, in Penelope’s English Experiences, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, part first (In Town), page 48:

     We think we get a kind of vague apprehension of what London means from the top of a ’bus better than anywhere else, and this vague apprehension is as much as the thoughtful or imaginative observer will ever arrive at in a lifetime.

   • 1901 July 19, T. K. Murray, “To Australia and Back”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, volume IV, number 10, The Times Printing and Publishing Company, Limited, published 1902, section “Melbourne”, page 299:

     There are some hansons, no ’busses.

   • 1906, “Casey in London”, in F[rancis] J. Cahill, compiler, A Bunch of Yarns and Rare Bits of Humor: […], New York, N.Y., New Orleans, La.: Carey-Stafford Company, page 23:

     One day I was riding on top of a ’bus in London with my friend Casey.

   • 1912, Barry Pain, “Mrs. Murphy”, in Pearson’s Magazine, page 184:

     If you can’t afford cabs you should take the ’bus.

   • 1919, Charles Hanson Towne, “When London Was in Darkness”, in Shaking Hands with England, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, pages 41–42:

     One misty day I was riding on top of a ’bus, and when the conductorette came to get my fare, she leaned over the seat in front of mine, and kissed the wounded soldier who was sitting there.