Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
bête noire
is a French phrase meaning literally “black beast,” and it is used in English figuratively to mean “any person or thing that is to be feared, hated, and if possible avoided,” as in Algebra was always his bête noire. Pronounce it bet-NWAHR. It seems to keep its accent mark in English, and in the plural each word gets a silent final -s, bêtes noires. See FOREIGN PHRASES.
