bus nose

"Bus nose" is a classic Hawaiian Pidgin slang term used primarily by younger locals and adults in casual, joking contexts to describe someone with severe halitosis. The phrase literally implies that the smell is so bad it "busts" (breaks) your nose.

It is almost always used as a teasing insult among friends or behind someone's back, and would be considered highly rude if said directly to a stranger, a coworker, or an elder. The term highlights the Pidgin tendency to use physical destruction ("bus" from "bust" or "busted") to exaggerate a sensory experience, similar to how "bus laugh" means to laugh uncontrollably or "bus up" means completely broken.

Sefa's phone buzzed non-stop as he huddled under a dripping blue tarp at the Hilo farmers market. The group chat was absolutely melting down. Kainoa had just gone on a first date with that girl from his marine biology lab, and Stacie was demanding every single detail while Sefa tried to buy a bag of rambutan without dropping his phone in a puddle.

"Bro, she was gorgeous," Kainoa texted, followed by three skull emojis. "But we went to Ken's House of Pancakes after, and I swear she ordered the garlic chicken and didn't drink any water. When we got back to her car, it was straight bus nose. I had to roll down the window in the rain."

Stacie immediately replied with a voice memo of her cackling, followed by a text: "Not the bus nose! Did you offer her a mint or did you just suffer all the way down Kilauea Avenue?" Sefa laughed out loud, startling the Filipino aunty bagging his fruit, and typed back, "RIP to your sense of smell, my guy. Next time take her for shave ice."