Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
Avoiding one's duties and responsibilities by claiming to have appointments to see a fictitious person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: humorous, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Bunbury + -ing, coined by Oscar Wilde in The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) after Bunbury, the fictitious disabled friend of the character Algernon whose supposed illness is used as an excuse to avoid social engagements.
