BUGABOO

bugaboo

(noun) a source of concern; “the old bugaboo of inflation still bothers them”

bogeyman, bugbear, bugaboo, boogeyman, booger

(noun) an imaginary monster used to frighten children

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Noun

bugaboo (plural bugaboos)

Alternative spelling of bug-a-boo

Source: Wiktionary


Bug`a*boo", Bug"bear`, n. Etym: [See Bug.]

Definition: Something frightful, as a specter; anything imaginary that causes needless fright; something used to excite needless fear; also, something really dangerous, used to frighten children, etc. "Bugaboos to fright ye." Lloyd. But, to the world no bugbear is so great As want of figure and a small estate. Pope. The bugaboo of the liberals is the church pray. S. B. Griffin. The great bugaboo of the birds is the owl. J. Burroughs.

Syn.

– Hobgoblin; goblin; specter; ogre; scarecrow.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

4 April 2025

GUILLOTINE

(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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