Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A terrifying specter; a hobgoblin.
Wiktionary
- n. A menacing, ghost-like monster in children's stories.
- n. by extension Any make-believe threat, especially one used to intimidate or distract.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A goblin; a bugbear; a bogey{1}. This is the form used by parents to frighten children.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an imaginary monster used to frighten children
Etymologies
- bogy + -man (Wiktionary)
Examples
“This business of Iran being characterized as the bogeyman is all a smokescreen people!”
“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.”
“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.”
“The trillion-pound bogeyman is also made of straw.”
The Guardian: Hutton report: he's no friend of gold-plated pensioners
“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.”
The Washington Post: Dem enthusiasm down sharply since 2006, too
“Right now that bogeyman is too feeble to inspire fear.”
The Wall Street Journal: What Goes Up Could Come Down: Stock-Bond Correlation
“A nation of namby pambies whining about every two-bit bogeyman is just a second-rate nation of Chicken Littles.”
“The “Europe” bogeyman is hilariosu, but it’s also a clue, if you think about it carefully.”
“These aren’t “special rights” that some liberal bogeyman is screaming for; these are rights that the Constitution allows for, through, for example, the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment, which allows government to take private property for public use IF gov’t compensates the individual fairly.”
“For one the bogeyman is a free market, for the other Arab immigration.”
The Wall Street Journal: French Politics After l'Affaire Strauss-Kahn
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘bogeyman’.
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MYTH - spooky creatures
takes the form of a, demon, teeth of iron, unicorn, forest spirit, magical eel, savage humanoid, one-horned animal, creature, headless humanoid, disease-bringing ..., rainbow-feathered... and 607 more...
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ghost
This is Ghost List 2 ( the kind that go 'boo!' ) :P
( open list )
more:
http://www.wordnik.com/lists/macabrephantom, spectral, specter, spectre, spooky, poltergeist, haunt, spirit, banshee, cryptic, shadow, phantasm and 311 more...
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Homeland Security
Words associated with homeland security
resilience, terrorism, preparedness, catastrophe, fear, radicalization, intelligence, security theater, bogeyman, Weapons of mass d..., Critical infrastr..., Emergence and 45 more...
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Be Afraid
Scary and scared words
ascared, ugsome, qualm, trepidity, disquietude, scaremonger, scaredy pants, bugbear, scarify, jimjams, petrified, afeared and 11 more...
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Fictional beasties
elf, gnome, dwarf, sprite, troll, fairy, nymph, imp, brownie, sasquatch, yeti, wookiee and 574 more...
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deegee's Words
pay-per-view, vitriol, delectable, snarky, unflinching, forsake, pervasive, inconsequential, unnerving, allure, endearing, unalloyed and 414 more...
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Verbalitis
syncretic
anecdotal, phthisis, serendipitous, slapper, syncretic, sesquipedalian, hysteresis, polt, noyade, crocket, irenic, masquerade and 278 more...
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Supernatural
bogeyman, ghost, peri, brownie, gnome, pixie, changeling, gorgon, satyr, djinn, fetch, genie and 12 more...
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trillie's Words
weirdo, lapdog, artichoke, kickstart, nerd, misguide, indifference, viva, myth, seeker, itch, flipside and 38 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for bogeyman.
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