blockbusting

English

Etymology

block +‎ busting

Noun

blockbusting (uncountable)

1. (US) A technique used to encourage people to sell their property by giving the impression that a neighborhood is changing for the worse, especially by implying a change in its racial makeup.
   • 1969 December 9, Linda Charlton, “'Blockbusting': Dilemma in East Flatbush Area”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Sonny W. Walker, another of the three black salesmen employed along with three whites by Concord Realty, 3524 Church Avenue, picked up the thread of Mr. Harris's bitter disclaimer that it took deliberate blockbusting—sometimes called panic redlining—to make whites move out of East Flatbush.

Adjective

blockbusting (not comparable)

1. Having the characteristics of a blockbuster; hugely successful.

   a blockbusting movie

Related terms

• blockbuster