# bus plunge

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/bus-plunge
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A phrase often used in filler story headlines in print newspapers, prior to the adoption of computer-aided typesetting and publishing methods, as it filled out the usual width of a column in the eight-column layout then prevalent in the industry.

## Examples

- Editors used the bus plunge headline to fill empty space on the page.
- The printer adds a bus plunge to fix the column length.
- Every small bus plunge helps the editor finish the page design.
- In the era of physical typesetting, the bus plunge was a common filler headline used to balance the columns of a newspaper.
- The young journalist noticed that the back page featured a bus plunge because the lead story was too short for the layout.
- Old newspapers often contain a bus plunge about a distant accident just to make the text look even on the paper.
- While reviewing the archives, the historian explained how a bus plunge from a remote country often appeared when a local reporter failed to meet their word count.
- Before digital publishing transformed the industry, the bus plunge served as a reliable, albeit repetitive, placeholder for typesetters struggling to justify the width of their columns.

## Origin

From bus + plunge.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.