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bunfight
DCHP-2 (Nov 2012)
Spelling variants:bun fight, bun-fight
1†n. — now rare, Food
a large party or dinner, usually unruly.
This meaning of bunfight developed from the literal meaning 'food fight where buns are thrown'. This meaning is losing currency to meaning 2 and, in the Canadian context, meaning 3.
See also COD-2, s.v. "bunfight", which is marked "Cdn, Brit. & Austral slang", and OED-3, s.v. "bun-fight", W-3, s.v. "bun-fight", which is marked "slang Brit".
See also COD-2, s.v. "bunfight", which is marked "Cdn, Brit. & Austral slang", and OED-3, s.v. "bun-fight", W-3, s.v. "bun-fight", which is marked "slang Brit".
Note that meanings 1 and 2 are 'dagger' terms, as explained in the introduction, and thus not Canadian.
Quotations
1936
Following an unusual bunfight, in which a dozen pieces of cake survived, the Engineers met in Med 142 for their regular meeting.
1977
It's like a bun fight in a university dining hall; Lenin, James Joyce, Dadaist Tristan Tzara and a bit player called Henry Carr in Zurich, 1917, knit up together by Tom Stoppard. With snatches of The Importance of Being Earnest. A damnably clever comedy -- a production that can't quite keep pace.
1986
We get a basket of rolls. They are hard and crusty on the outside and, for uniformity's sake, hard and crusty on the inside. And cold. Perfect for a bun fight.
1991
Australian novelist David Malouf, whose The Great World is a contender for this year's Best Book, concurs with Goff. "The best thing that happened to the Premier's Prize, an Australian literary award, was when they threw a grand dinner which turned into a very famous bunfight," recalls Malouf, who was there. Drinks were lavish, the food was late, the speeches were boring, and someone cast the first bun. Soon the room was in chaos; even the Premier of New South Wales caught a bun and lobbed it back.
1992
Many moons ago, South African Foreign Minister Pik Botha addressed a foreign correspondents' dinner which erupted into a wild and jeering bun fight, which no one who was present will ever forget.
2008
Nobody wins in a dinner-party bunfight
Last weekend, my partner and I were kicked out of the home of a straight couple who are (or were) long-term friends. Over dessert, in discussing travel plans, they commented on how great it will be to go to Britain now that smoking is banned there in public places.
2†n. — humorous, Food
a jocular way of referring to a meal.
Occasionally, the term refers to an ordinary meal. While OED-3 lists the meaning 'tea party' (s.v. "bun" (n.2), "bun-fight"), this term is either a Semantic Change in North America (the meaning is found in the US as well) or a Preservation of a British meaning not documented in OED-3. The latter interpretation would depend on W-3's correct labelling as "slang Brit" (s.v. "bun-fight").
Quotations
1899
The second day of the great show was to cater to the enjoyment of the middle classes, the solid body of people, and the last grand wind-up was to have been a free-for-all plebeian bunfight on a tremendous scale, recalling Lord Major celebrations and ancient Roman gladiator fights and free corn.
1935
Then there is the wiener roast and bunfight that the Sappers' club has scheduled for to-night at the clubrooms, 619 Sherbourne St., and to which all ex-sappers are invited.
1995
And some of those friends are getting together Wednesday for an Alumni Association general meeting and dinner at the Faculty Club.
The annual award for excellence in teaching will be doled out at a reception starting at 5 p.m., the meeting begins at 6 p.m. and the bunfight itself at 7 p.m.
3n. — Politics, slang
a situation characterized by widespread argument and dispute, particularly between political institutions or entities.
Type: 3. Semantic Change — This meaning, which is often applied in political contexts (see the quotations since 1982), including the media (e.g., the 1978 quotation) and unions (e.g., the 2013 quotation), developed out of a figurative extension of meaning 1. This is the most popular Canadian meaning and there is good evidence to consider it a Canadian innovation. The claim to distinct Canadianness is based on the specialized meaning, which has been extracted from close readings of the search results in the .za, .uk and .ca domains (see Chart 1). Meanings in .za and .uk domains are either meaning 1 or a general dispute. The political reading, as seen in meaning 3, however, seems to be particularly frequent in, if not to say near-exclusive to, Canada.
In the North American context, the form is three times as frequent in Canada as in the US, which might indicate a Preservation of the form from British English, with subsequent semantic specialization.
Quotations
1978
Curling will never be the same. Each year, Toronto's media people shake hands, forget grudges, and gather at The Terrace for a day-long bunfight called the Broken Broom Bonspiel.
1982
There's a real bunfight shaping up in Broadview-Greenwood for the Conservative nomination in the federal by-election expected this fall.
1993
In the midst of these troubles, what seems set to take over the public stage? Nothing less than that hoary Canadian tradition - a bunfight over federal-provincial relations.
2006
The big question after the coming weekend's federal Liberal leadership bunfight is whether this country can survive all those massive egos, those jumbo-sized intellects smashing up against each other, vying for the top job.
2010
The Senate normally is a less partisan chamber than the House Commons since appointed senators, who serve to age 75, don't have to campaign to win their seats.
But this week a political bun-fight has broken out between Conservative Sen. Pam Wallin and her Liberal colleague Colin Kenny.
References
- COD-2
- OED-3
- W-3
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