bugbear means an ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity. It carries an Arena rating of 1931, earned across 30 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, bugbear ranks #306 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #452 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #514 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #550 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
bugbear is pronounced /ˈbʌɡ.bɛə(ɹ)/.
Why “bugbear” is a great word
An object of obsessive dread or irritation, whether a persistent real-world problem or an imaginary monster used to frighten children. From the Middle English 'bugge' ('something terrifying, hobgoblin') + 'bear', describing a bear-like specter meant to inspire fear. Unlike a 'bugaboo', which flits as a persistent, often exaggerated anxiety, or a 'pet peeve', which is a minor, personalized vexation, a bugbear carries the weight of both folklore and concrete, recurring tribulation. It is the stack of unpaid bills that grows heavier each morning, the creak of floorboards mistaken for claws in the dark, and the childhood closet monster that, grown up, becomes the mortgage—the fear that is both ridiculous and inescapable, the problem that cannot be solved because it is already inside your house.
Etymology
From obsolete meaning of bug (“something terrifying”) + bear. See Middle English bugge, modern bogey.
noun
- An ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity.e.g.“Stone ballast is now used throughout the main line, and has the additional advantage of eliminating the previous bugbear of dust.” — 1940 November, O. S. M. Raw, “The Rhodesia Railways—I”, in Railway Magazine, page 592:
- A source of dread; resentment; or irritation.e.g.“What has this Bugbear Death to frighten Man,
If Souls can die, as well as Bodies can?” — 1709, John Dryden, "Lucretius: A Poem against the Fear of Death" (lines 1-2), published in a pamphlet of the same name with an Ode in Memory of Mrs. Ann Killebrew
- A generic creature, often described as a large goblin, meant to inspire fear in children.
verb
- To alarm with idle phantoms.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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