bugbear

Etymology

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

noun

1. An ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity.
   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
   Level crossings are the bugbear of railway operation at Hull. There are no fewer than 16 within the city boundary. 1962 January, “Talking of Trains: Hull's level crossing problem”, in Modern Railways, page 10
   Next, they operate in constrained worlds. Apple is a particular bugbear for Mr Zuckerberg and Mr Sweeney. 2021-12-18, “The billionaire battle for the metaverse”, in The Economist, →ISSN
2. A source of dread; resentment; or irritation.
   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
   But, to the world no bugbear is so great As want of figure and a small estate. 1738, Alexander Pope, Epistle I of the First Book of Horace; to Lord Bolingbroke
3. (archaic) An imaginary creature meant to inspire fear in children.
   The partisans of the Administration object to the word “imperialism,” calling it a mere bugbear having no real existence. 1900, Carl Schurz, For Truth, Justice and Liberty

verb

1. (transitive) To alarm with idle phantoms.