bugbear

bugbear

See also: bug-bear

English

Alternative forms

• bug-bear

Etymology

From obsolete meaning of bug (“something terrifying”) +‎ bear.[1][2] See Middle English bugge, modern bogey.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbʌɡ.bɛə(ɹ)/, /ˈbʌɡ.bɛː(ɹ)/, enPR: ˈbŭg-bâr

• Audio (southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbʌɡ.bɛɚ/, enPR: ˈbŭg-bär

Noun

bugbear (plural bugbears)

1. An ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity.

   Synonym: pet peeve

   • 1940 November, O. S. M. Raw, “The Rhodesia Railways—I”, in Railway Magazine, page 592:

     Stone ballast is now used throughout the main line, and has the additional advantage of eliminating the previous bugbear of dust.

   • 1962 January, “Talking of Trains: Hull's level crossing problem”, in Modern Railways, page 10:

     Level crossings are the bugbear of railway operation at Hull. There are no fewer than 16 within the city boundary.

   • 2021 December 18, “The billionaire battle for the metaverse”, in The Economist‎, ISSN 0013-0613:

     Next, they operate in constrained worlds. Apple is a particular bugbear for Mr Zuckerberg and Mr Sweeney.

2. A source of dread; resentment; or irritation. [from late 16th c.]
   • 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:

     What has this Bugbear Death to frighten Man,

     If Souls can die, as well as Bodies can?

   • 1738, Alexander Pope, Epistle I of the First Book of Horace; to Lord Bolingbroke

     But, to the world no bugbear is so great

     As want of figure and a small estate.

   • 1840 April – 1841 November, Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop. A Tale. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1841, OCLC 1109979921:

     What have I done to be made a bugbear of, and to be shunned and dreaded as if I brought the plague?

3. (archaic) An imaginary creature meant to inspire fear in children.

   Synonym: goblin

   • 1900, Carl Schurz, For Truth, Justice and Liberty:

     The partisans of the Administration object to the word “imperialism,” calling it a mere bugbear having no real existence.

Translations

ongoing problem

Czech: černá můra f Dutch: bête noire Finnish: kiusa (fi), riesa (fi)

source of dread, resentment or irritation

Bulgarian: плашило (bg) (plašilo) Czech: strašák (cs) m (v hlavě) Dutch: boeman (nl), schrikbeeld (nl) Finnish: henkilökohtainen mörkö, peikko (fi) (in a possessive structure)

imaginary creature

Chinese: Mandarin: 熊蜂 (zh) Czech: strašidlo (cs) n Dutch: spookbeeld (nl) Finnish: menninkäinen (fi), mörkö (fi) German: Schrat (de) m Greek: μπαμπούλας (el) m (bampoúlas) Ancient: φόβητρον n (phóbētron) Hungarian: mumus (hu)

See also

• bête noire
• bogeyman
• bugaboo

Verb

bugbear (third-person singular simple present bugbears, present participle bugbearing, simple past and past participle bugbeared)

1. (transitive) To alarm with idle phantoms.

References

1. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “bugbear”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
2. “bugbear”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• Burbage, rubbage