Balabusta (Yiddish: בעל־הביתטע) is a Yiddish expression describing a good homemaker among Ashkenazi Jews. The Anglicized form is baleboste, and the term derives from the Hebrew term bá'alat habáyit, meaning "mistress of the house". The masculine form is בעל־הבית balebos, from Hebrew בַּעַל הַבַּיִת bá'al habáyit "master of the house", of same origin as Baal.
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Connotations
It usually has purely positive connotations, although there are sources that claim otherwise. The traditional role of the balabusta also includes, besides fulfilling the household duties for the family, its spiritual bonding and helping its members hold together.
Variations
Variations on this word include the Yiddish Balabuste or Balabusteh and the Ladino Balabusha among Sephardi Jews.
In popular culture
Martin Davidson's Rechnitzer Rejects group recorded a song titled "Balabustas", an homage to the traditional role set to the theme song of the 1984 movie Ghostbusters.
Socalled's song