blunderbuss

[ bluhn-der-buhs ]

noun

1. a short musket of wide bore with expanded muzzle to scatter shot, bullets, or slugs at close range.
2. an insensitive, blundering person.

blunderbuss

/ ˈblʌndəˌbʌs /

noun

1. an obsolete short musket with large bore and flared muzzle, used to scatter shot at short range
2. informal.
   a clumsy unsubtle person

Word History and Origins

Origin of blunderbuss¹

1645–55; < Dutch donderbus (equivalent to donder thunder + bus gun, box ¹ ) with donder replaced by blunder. See harquebus

Word History and Origins

Origin of blunderbuss¹

C17: changed (through the influence of blunder ) from Dutch donderbus ; from donder thunder + obsolete bus gun

Example Sentences

But I find it hard to unequivocally pick who’s right and wrong when the choices are between Hamas, a terrorist organization, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose blunderbuss response to the Oct.

From Seattle Times

Unfortunately, these mouthwashes are a blunderbuss approach to oral health, as they indiscriminately remove both good and bad bacteria and increase oral acidity, which can cause disease.

From Salon

Whereas Smith’s Jan. 6 indictment was an arrow aimed straight at Trump, Willis’ is a blunderbuss.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s as if the nation’s founders in writing the 2nd Amendment’s right to bear arms in 1789 had specified the maximum muzzle size of a blunderbuss or fire power of a musket.

From Los Angeles Times

He may not have pioneered the blunderbuss technique of deregulation, but he provided a model.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blunderer
• bumbler
• klutz
• lummox