bunny-boiler

English

Noun

bunny-boiler (plural bunny-boilers)

1. Alternative form of bunny boiler
   • [1988, Glamour, volume 86, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 159:

     Witness such media events as the Great Old Maid Scare of '86 (sparked by a study suggesting that a woman who hasn't married by age forty has less chance of doing so than of being shot by a terrorist); and the Fatal Attraction Syndrome (the notion that unmarried career women are so unfulfilled they turn into homicidal bunny-boilers).]

   • [1990 December 6, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Tex.: The Dallas Morning News, →ISSN, →OCLC, page A2, column 3:

     There's nothing like portraying a psychopathic bunny-boiler to boost one's self-esteem, Glenn Close tells Ladies' Home Journal.

     The 1988 and 1990 quotations are literal rather than idiomatic uses of the term, as they simply refer to the scene in the film.]

   • 2009, Stéphanie Genz, “Boiling the Bunny: The Backlash and Macho Feminism”, in Postfemininities in Popular Culture, Basingstoke, Hampshire, New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, →DOI, →ISBN, part I (From “Feminine Mystique” to “Girl Power”), page 66:

     The 1980s bunny-boiler was perceived to be infinitely more dangerous than the bra-burner; whereas the latter confined herself to a rejection of feminine accoutrements, the bunny-boiler – bolstered by the successes of the women's movement – did not hesitate to assert her rights and use violent means to achieve her goals.

   • 2009, Lynne Graham, The Ruthless Magnate’s Virgin Mistress (Harlequin Presents; 2787), Toronto, Ont., New York, N.Y.: Harlequin, →ISBN, page 10:

     He wondered why he always landed bunny-boilers who started out cool and calm but speedily went into the pursuit mode of deadly missiles.