bugbear
/ˈbʌɡbɛː
/noun
1A cause of obsessive fear, anxiety, or irritation: the biggest villain is that adman’s bugbear, saturated fat...
- The major bugbear for anyone involved with Hearts is the continuing problems with Tynecastle Stadium.
- Now making phone calls has become one of my bugbears.
- But I shall leave those bugbears for another day.
Synonyms
pet hate, hate, bane, irritant, irritation, dislike, anathema, aversion, vexation, thorn in one's flesh/side, bane of one's life;
torment, nightmare, horror, dread, curse, bugaboo, bogey;
French bête noire
informal peeve, pet peeve, pain, pain in the neck, hang-up
2 archaic An imaginary being invoked to frighten children, typically a sort of hobgoblin supposed to devour them.One of these, Francis Moore, wrote: ‘A dreadful bugbear to the women is called Mumbo Jumbo, which keeps the women in awe.’...
- Mormo was a female spectre, with which the Greeks used to frighten little children. Mormo was one of the same class of bugbears as Empusa and Lamia.
- Mermaids are supposed to abound in the ponds and ditches in this neighbourhood. Careful mothers use them as bugbears to prevent little children from going too near the water.
Origin
Late 16th century: probably from obsolete bug 'bogey' (of unknown origin) + bear2.