Word of the Day Archive
Saturday July 20, 2002
busker \BUS-kur\ , noun:
A person who entertains (as by playing music) in public places.
Jakub is a student of mathematics, a likable but callow young man who seduces a blind busker, Alzbeta, who plays for the tourists in modern Prague.
-- Andrew Miller, "Waiting for Something to Happen", New York Times, October 24, 1999
When Singapore decided to legalize street performances in 1997, artists were required to audition and to donate any money collected to charity. The government recently lifted a ban on audience participation, but the streets remain largely busker-free.
-- Wayne Arnold, "In Singapore, the Start-Up Dance Is Still Difficult to Do", New York Times, September 19, 1999
. . .a busker who simultaneously plays the drums, cymbals, bells and a mouth organ.
-- Murray Bail, Homesickness: A Novel
Busker is from busk, "to seek to entertain by singing and dancing," probably from Spanish buscar, "to seek."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for busker
