bête noire

noun, plural bêtes noires

[beyt nwahrz; French bet nwar] .

a person or thing especially disliked or dreaded; bane; bugbear.

Origin:
1835–45; < French: literally, black beast

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To bête noire

Collins

World English Dictionary

bête noire (bɛt nwar)

—n , pl bêtes noires
	a person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads

[literally: black beast]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Bête noire is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

bete noire

"an insufferable person," 1844, from Fr. bête noire "personal aversion," as an adj., "stupid, foolish;" lit. "the black beast."

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

bête noire [(bet nwahr)]

Something or someone a person views with particular dislike: “The new candidate for governor is the bête noire of all the liberals in the state.” From French, meaning “black beast.”

Matching Quote

"By an application of the theory of relativity to the taste of readers, to-day in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be regarded as a bête noire the descriptions will be reversed, and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for the English!"

-Albert Einstein

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