bundobust

English

Alternative forms

• bandobast, bandobust

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

• Henry Yule, A[rthur] C[oke] Burnell (1903) “bundobust”, in William Crooke, editor, Hobson-Jobson […] , London: John Murray, […], page 127.