Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BETE NOIRE

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explore the archives: If you'd like to preserve the French character of today's term, you can include the little mark above the first "e:" "bête noire." But you don't have to; folks often leave it out to Americanize the phrase. The same goes for our word éc___, meaning "dazzling success"--you can write the little mark above the "e" or choose not to. (Can you recall that beautiful word?) make your point with... "BETE NOIRE" French for "black beast," a bete noire is the person or thing you hate the most. In other words, a bete noire is someone's most hated, most bothersome thing or person. Pronunciation: bet NWAH Part of speech: Countable noun. (Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions." Likewise, talk about a bete noire, the bete noire, my bete noire, etc.  We don't usually make it plural.) Other forms: none How to use it: You usually talk about a particular person's bete noire, the bete noire of someone, or the bete noire of someone's life: "a classroom teacher's bete noire is the helicopter mom," "he's the bete noire of liberals," "that constant attempt to undermine the new law by failing to fund it is the bete noire of lawmakers' lives." examples: Perhaps for good reason, the passive voice has long been the bete noire of English teachers. I admit that I'm listening to her new songs mostly to see how ruthlessly she paints her current bete noire. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "bete noire" means when you can explain it without saying "bane of my existence" or "thing I seriously hate." try it out: Within your own profession (or a profession that interests you), think of something that really bothers a lot of people, and fill in the blanks: "(An extremely annoying thing)--it's the bete noire of (certain people)." Example: "All that tedious paperwork just to get insurance companies to pay for services already provided--it's the bete noire of healthcare professionals." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Language Techniques: When language sounds beautiful or memorable, often there’s some particular technique responsible for that effect. Each day this month, I’ll give you a specific stylistic technique or quality, and I’d like you to recreate (as closely as you can) the quote that I’ve botched by removing it. We’ll work our way from the easiest to the hardest techniques. Enjoy! From yesterday: Like a simile but firmer and more dramatic, a metaphor is a comparison between things that doesn't use the word "like" or "as"--it just says that one thing IS another.  For example, Franz Kafka wrote that "A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us." In other words, a book isn't just like an axe; it is an axe. Emily Dickinson didn't write, "Hope is like something in your soul that sings without stopping." What did she write instead? Answer: "'Hope' is the thing with feathers -  That perches in the soul -  And sings the tune without the words -  And never stops - at all -" Try this one today: Like similes and metaphors but more functional, analogies are comparisons that serve to explain or clarify.  For example, George R. R. Martin has said that "a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge."  If Winston Churchill had simply said, "A good speech should be long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest," then nobody would be quoting that idea now. But we are. What cheeky analogy did Churchill include in that statement? review today's word: 1. The opposite of BETE NOIRE is A. COMPELLING QUESTION B. BELOVED FAVORITE C. FALSE FRIEND 2.  What would highbrow clickbait ads look like? Instead of saying _____, they'd say _____.  A. "Doctors hate him!" .. "The bete noir of doctors!" B. "One weird trick!" .. "One bete noire!" C. "Wrinkle tip revealed!" .. "A bete noire of wrinkles!" Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. A