In time of year 2 of " Bridgerton , " Anthony utter a smoldering — if perplexing — declaration to Kate :
" You are thebane of my existenceand the object of all my desire . "
He delivers this railway line so convincingly that some viewers have taken it to be a full - throttle statement oflove and veneration . But is that really what the viscount is enunciate here ? Not quite .
What Is a ‘Bane’ Anyway?
Merriam - Webstersays that a bane is a reservoir of harm or wrecking . That does n’t sound terribly romantic . Let ’s see if theCambridge dictionaryhas a more hopeful definition : " a case of uninterrupted fuss or sadness . " That ’s slenderly better than a origin of laying waste , but it ’s not erotic love either .
The news " bane " is quite old , coming from Old English through Middle English to Modern English middling much unaltered . " Bana " inOld Englishmeant " killer , murderer , manslayer . " It was often combined with other words , like brothorbana ( brother slayer ) , or handbana ( one who kills with his own hand ) .
So at least English has softened the definition of bane a bit over the last thousand year or so .
The Bane of Anything
In the twenty-first century , English speakers usually expend the Son bane the way Anthony did in " Bridgerton " as part of a phrase beginning " the bane of … , " and it ’s often used ironically or to exaggerate how awful something is .
TheUrban Dictionarypoints out that it ’s " something that is so disagreeable with your intent that it feels like its existence might negate yours . "
Thelaser pointeris almost certainly the scourge of your cat ’s existence . Some people love avocado , while the hide presence of guacamole in a burrito is the bane of someone else ’s lunch . A full e-mail inbox is almost sure enough the bane of one ’s workday . Or it could be used to describe a legitimate trouble , like the fact that icy pavement are the nemesis of dogwalkers in the wintertime .
In " Bridgerton , " Anthony was telling Kate that she was a regal hurting ( so to talk ) , but he could n’t keep himself from obsessing about her .
It ’s a very mixed bag , but it ’s the perfect thing for Lord Bridgerton to say to Miss Sharma as their relationship move from enemies to lover . However , calling someone the nemesis of your existence is not often the most romantic move .
