bête noire

American  

[beyt nwahr, bet nwar] / ˌbeɪt ˈnwɑr, bɛt ˈnwar /

noun

plural

bêtes noires

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

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bête noire British  

/ bɛt nwar /

noun

1. a person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads

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bête noire Cultural  

1. 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.”

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bête noire Idioms  

1. A person or thing that is particularly disliked. For example, Calculus was the bête noire of my freshman courses. This phrase, French for “black beast,” entered the English language in the early 1800s. For synonyms, see pain in the neck; thorn in one's flesh.

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Etymology

Origin of bête noire

1835–45; < French: literally, black beast

Example Sentences

Microplastics are the current bete noire and rightly so, but we’re still in the dark about the causal calamity of a past era’s chemical polluting.

From Los Angeles Times

But others fear the fine print will include relaxing rules on the import of American food, including hormone-fed cattle and the chlorinated chicken which has become a bete noire of European critics of US big agriculture.

From Barron's

Those remaining numbly reiterate the greats from "Black Mirror"’s yesteryear: “Common People” and “Bête Noire” echo themes from “Fifteen Million Merits,” “Hated in the Nation,” and “Nosedive"; “Hotel Reverie” attempts to riff on the “ghost in the machine” romance of “San Junipero"; and “Plaything” makes a muddle of “Smithereens,” “White Christmas,” and, frankly, “USS Callister” — which arguably makes it this season’s Polaris.

From Salon

But it remains a bête noire for critics of mass incarceration.

From Los Angeles Times

They are the bête noire of many nutritionists - mass-produced yet moreish foods like chicken nuggets, packaged snacks, fizzy drinks, ice cream or even sliced brown bread.

From BBC