plague

I hope that bad things happen to both of you (and your families). The phrase appears in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I can't believe the two of you would deceive me like this! A plague on both your houses!

To consciously stay away from someone or something. I didn't do my homework my last night, so I'm avoiding my teacher like the plague. My dog is terrified of cats and avoids them like the plague.

Fig. to ignore or keep away from someone or something totally. What's wrong with Bob? Everyone avoids him like the plague. I don't like opera. I avoid it like the plague.

Rur. enough of something to annoy even a patient person. That little boy has enough curiosity to plague a saint! Sally's a well-meaning woman, but her endless gossiping is enough to plague a saint.

to bother or annoy someone or something with something. Stop plaguing me with your requests. We plagued the committee with ideas.

to keep far away from someone or something When he was in high school, he avoided girls like the plague.

to try very hard to avoid someone or something that you do not like I'm not a fan of parties - in fact I avoid them like the plague.

Evade or elude at any cost, shun. For example, Since Bob was taken into police custody, his friends have been avoiding him and his family like the plague . This seemingly modern expression dates from the Latin of the early Middle Ages, when Saint Jerome (a.d. 345-420) wrote, "Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who is also a man of business." The plague, a deadly infectious disease in his day, has been largely wiped out, but the term remains current.