Crossword Dictionary
BUSTLE
Bustle, item of feminine apparel for pushing out the back portion of a skirt. The bustle, or tournure, was notably fashionable in Europe and the United States for most of the 1870s and again in the 1880s.
Padded cushions for accentuating the back of the hips represent one of several methods women throughout history have used to shape their skirts. Known variously as “bum rolls,†“bearers,†and “cork rumps,†such pads enjoyed sporadic popularity in the West from the 16th century, especially in France in the late 1700s. The bustle followed the decline of the crinoline, another skirt-shaping device, in the latter half of the 19th century, as the crinoline changed to become flatter in the front and more-emphasized in the back and designs focused on a bunching up of material behind the waist.
By the early 1870s the bustle had become a separate garment, which was situated over the posterior and generally tied around the waist. Bustles were constructed in various ways, often with a rigid support (for example, metal or mesh) as well as some form of padding (horsehair, down, wool, or even straw). Over the course of the decade, bustles became smaller until they all but vanished about 1878.
Despite such innovations, the bustle went out of fashion by the beginning of the following decade, replaced again by a simple pad. It has not enjoyed widespread popularity since, with the exception of bridal fashion, and the term has come to refer to fabric draped in a bustle style as well as to the clothing item itself.
bustle
bustle, bustle about, hustle - v
move or cause to move energetically or busily; "The cheerleaders bustled about excitingly before their performance"
A flurry of activity and commotion is often referred to as bustle. If you want to see true bustle in action, just walk through Times Square in New York during lunch hour.
If it's busy, energetic or moving about at a rapid pace, then it's bustling. Word historians think bustle might stem from an Old Norse word meaning "to prepare." However, it's probably easier to remember bustle by the synonym it's often used with — hustle, as in "the hustle and bustle of a big city."