bugbear

Word family

bug·bear /ˈbʌɡbeə $ -ber/ noun [countableC]

WORRIEDsomething that makes people feel annoyed or worried 使人烦恼[担心]的东西

Paperwork is our worst bugbear.

文书工作是我们最头痛的事。

Examples from the Corpus

bugbear• One of his main bugbears is the foreign ownership of technology.• This seems to be a major bugbear of some guns, making them harder work than applying the adhesive from a tube.• He also mentioned an old bugbear - he thought Vincent should dress better.• Nor was it his other bugbear, the wicked arms manufacturers.• Johnson held a not dissimilar reciprocal opinion, comparing Monboddo to another of his own bugbears, Rousseau.• Finally, we come to the bugbear of the 1980s - rubbish collection.

Origin bugbear

(1500-1600) Probably from bug “evil spirit” ( → BUG1) + → BEAR21

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus