big bad
A major adversary or antagonist of a piece of fictionA major adversary or antagonist of a piece of fiction.
» Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Wer hat Angst vor dem großen, bösen Wolf?
Wer ängstigt sich vor dem großen, bösen Wolf?
Wer hat vor dem großen, bösen Wolf Angst?
Wer fürchtet sich vor dem großen, bösen Wolf?
Meaning
1 sensesA major adversary or antagonist of a piece of fiction.
Examples
3 sentencesWho's afraid of the big bad wolf?
deWer hat Angst vor dem großen, bösen Wolf? — raggione
The big, bad wolf swallowed the old lady whole in an instant.
And so the Big Bad Wolf huffed, and he puffed, and he blew down the tag that demanded a native check.
Origin
The noun was back-formed in 1998 in the episode “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”, seasThe noun was back-formed in 1998 in the episode “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”, season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is a nominalization derived from the long-established adjectival pattern within Big Bad Wolf and collocative constructions inspired by it (e.g., I tried to reason with her, but to her I'm just the big bad authority figure who can't be trusted).
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