Bust up the Block

If I had to guess where the term “blockbuster” came from, I would say it was the lines of people, stretching out for blocks, waiting to get the next hot movie or book. Picture fans camping outside of a store so they can be the first to get the newest edition of whatever.




However, the real origin of “blockbuster” is much more violent than a horde of parents fighting over the last Cabbage Patch doll or Tickle Me Elmo. In World War II, bombs that could level an entire city block were known as “blockbusters.”



Now anything that makes a “considerable impact” is considered a “blockbuster.”



Source: Webb Garrison’s Why You Say It