Crossword Genius

Speculation I rejected with fury as anathema (4,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bete noire

'anathema' is the definition.
('bete noire' can be a synonym of 'anathema')

'speculation i rejected with fury' is the wordplay.
'speculation' becomes 'bet' (bet is a kind of speculation).
'i' becomes 'one' ('one' can be a synonym of 'i'**).
'rejected' is a reversal indicator.
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'fury' becomes 'ire' (I've seen this before).
'one' backwards is 'eno'.
'bet'+'eno'+'ire'='BETE NOIRE'

'as' is the link.

(Other definitions for bete noire that I've seen before include "Object of aversion" , "Pet hate" , "undesirable" , "Person or thing one particularly dislikes" , "One particularly disliked" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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