[buhs-uh
l] 
verb, -tled, -tling, noun | 1. | to move or act with a great show of energy (often fol. by about): He bustled about cooking breakfast. |
| 2. | to abound or teem with something; display an abundance of something; teem (often fol. by with): The office bustled with people and activity. |
| 3. | to cause to bustle; hustle. |
| 4. | thriving or energetic activity; stir; ferment. |
[buhs-uhl] | 1. | fullness around or below the waist of a dress, as added by a peplum, bows, ruffles, etc. |
| 2. | a pad, cushion, or framework formerly worn under the back of a woman's skirt to expand, support, and display the full cut and drape of a dress. |
| bus·tle 1 (bŭs'əl) intr. & tr.v. bus·tled, bus·tling, bus·tles To move or cause to move energetically and busily. n. Excited and often noisy activity; a stir. [Possibly variant of obsolete buskle, frequentative of busk, to prepare oneself, from Old Norse būask, reflexive of būa, to prepare; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.] |
| bus·tle 2 (bŭs'əl) n.
[Origin unknown.] |
bustle
item of feminine apparel for pushing out the skirt in back just below the waist; although used at various times since the 14th century, it was first known under this name in the 19th century. The specific fashion for the bustle, or tournure, came between 1865 and 1876 and again in the 1880s. It followed the decline of the crinoline (q.v.) and began as a bunching up of material behind the waist but became a wire cage attached to the petticoat, sticking out backward like a shelf, over which the dress material was draped.
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