Definitions
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A goblin; a bugbear; a
bogey{1} . This is the form used by parents to frighten children.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
menacing ,ghost -likemonster in children's stories. - noun by extension Any
make-believe threat , especially one used tointimidate ordistract .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an imaginary monster used to frighten children
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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This business of Iran being characterized as the bogeyman is all a smokescreen people!
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The term "bogeyman" seems to have come from the Welsh "bwg" spirit and the word "bug" was applied to insects because of the belief that insects were souls in search of rebirth.
WalesOnline - Home 2011
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A nation of namby pambies whining about every two-bit bogeyman is just a second-rate nation of Chicken Littles.
David Ropeik: The Word: Feariness David Ropeik 2010
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A nation of namby pambies whining about every two-bit bogeyman is just a second-rate nation of Chicken Littles.
David Ropeik: The Word: Feariness David Ropeik 2010
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A nation of namby pambies whining about every two-bit bogeyman is just a second-rate nation of Chicken Littles.
David Ropeik: The Word: Feariness David Ropeik 2010
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Right now that bogeyman is too feeble to inspire fear.
What Goes Up Could Come Down: Stock-Bond Correlation Matt Phillips 2010
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The trillion-pound bogeyman is also made of straw.
Hutton report: he's no friend of gold-plated pensioners Patrick Collinson 2010
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A nation of namby pambies whining about every two-bit bogeyman is just a second-rate nation of Chicken Littles.
David Ropeik: The Word: Feariness David Ropeik 2010
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Idly checking the state of debate among Eurosceptics, I was wryly amused to discover that the latest bogeyman is the European Gendarmerie Force, or EGF.
April Books 1) The Emperor's Babe, by Bernardine Evaristo 50books_poc 2010
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But if this holds, perhaps the real conclusion to be drawn is this: The one thing that really drives up voter enthusiasm more reliably than anything else is to have a bogeyman from the opposite party -- a figure that concentrates angst, fear, and loathing -- in the White House.
Dem enthusiasm down sharply since 2006, too Greg Sargent 2010
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