doorbuster

[Ben Zimmer]

Barry Popik has compiled cites for "doorbuster" on his site (earliest
is from 1917):

http://barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/doorbuster/

Most early cites are from Iowa papers. A 1925 article credits John
Wanamaker's department store.

On Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 7:10 PM, Ben Zimmer  wrote:
> Added to Oxford's current dictionaries (NOAD/ODE) in 2006:
>
> http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/doorbuster?q=doorbuster
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 5:26 PM, David Barnhart <dbarnhart at highlands.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> doorbuster, n. {w} Also written door buster or door-buster.  a merchandise
>> sale so inviting that customers will break the doors down to gain access.
>> Standard (used in informal contexts dealing especially with Christmas retail
>> sales; very frequent)
>>
>>
>>
>> "Computers, TVs, laptops, tablets.  Everything.  I'm here for it all,"
>> Bryndon Romero of Newburgh said Wednesday, as he waited for the "door
>> buster" sales to begin more than 30 hours later, at midnight Thursday.
>> "Shoppers camp out for Black Friday," Times Herald Record, Nov. 22, 2012, p
>> 48
>>
>>
>>
>> "We will have doorbusters Thursday night and until 1 p.m. Friday," Davis
>> said.
>>
>> Goody's has stocked 10 percent more merchandise, and Davis said he was
>> expecting it to be extremely busy. Matt Burrowes, "Black Friday comes a day
>> early," The Natchez Democrat [Miss.] (Nexis), Nov. 22, 2012, p not given
>>
>>
>>
>> Reducing peak loads also is the goal of the early-morning and late-night
>> promotions. Breakfast at Tiffany's may be more romantic than breakfast at
>> Woodies, but Tiffany's doesn't have 8 a.m. doorbusters. Some stores
>> practically will pay you to shop at that hour, and you're likely to get
>> better service from clerks who have not yet been trampled by gift-givers.
>> Jerry Knight, "Oh Come All Ye Shoppers," The Washington Post (Nexis), Dec.
>> 10, 1984, Washington Business sect., p 1
>>
>>
>>
>> It was the deal of the century, maybe the millenium: dinosaur bone fragments
>> for a buck, door-buster discounts on mammoth molars and half price on
>> trilobites.  "Domestic News," The Associated Press (Nexis), Sept. 23, 1983,
>> p not given
>>
>>
>>
>> Says Ron Rulof, Lieberman Homes, "Newspaper sections have become more
>> competitive, so we're using more direct mail.  In a particular part of town,
>> it's better to identify prospects via income and special interests than run
>> a door buster offer." "Street Smarts: How marketing works for home
>> builders," Ad Day (Nexis), July 10, 1986, Sect. II, p 6
>>
>>
>>
>> Composite (compound): formed from door (eOED: 721), as in
>>
>> door-opener (eOED: n.d.), + buster (eOED: 1835), as in ratebuster (eOED:
>> 1970).


--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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