Dictionary

bad apple en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From the proverb “one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch” (or a variant thereof).

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, in-plural, often) A person who is not wholesome, honest, or trustworthy, especially one who has an adverse influence on others.
   • Near-synonym: bad egg
   • If anyone still harbors the fantasy that the business scandals of the past few years were the handiwork of just a few bad apples, they should read John Bogle's "Battle for the Soul of Capitalism." 2006 January 27, Jeff Madrick, “Wall Street: More than few bad apples”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 13 Nov 2021:
   • There is one bad apple, and that is Katie, the beautiful prostitute with whom Catcher Bruce is in love. Unlike the cliche harlot of fiction, she is as short of compassion as Bruce is of IQ. 1956 March 19, “Echoing Ring (book review of Bang the Drum Slowly by Mark Harris)”, in TIME, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2012:
   • While most union leaders are people of integrity, there are still bad apples. 2003 October 5, Steven Greenhouse, “Unions See Politics in New Disclosure Rules”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 06 Oct 2020:

Forms

Deriveds

bad appling

Relateds

rotten to the core · there's a rotten apple in every barrel

Synonyms

bad egg · bad seed · rotten apple

Translations (25)

sv ruttet ägg (person who is not wholesome) · es garbanzo negro (person who is not wholesome) · cmn 害群之馬 /害群之马 (person who is not wholesome) · pt maçã podre (person who is not wholesome) · hi गंदी मछली (person who is not wholesome) · ro poamă rea (person who is not wholesome) · de Unheilstifter (person who is not wholesome) · ru парши́вая овца́ (person who is not wholesome) · sk čierna ovca (person who is not wholesome) · gd droch-isean (person who is not wholesome) · de fauler Apfel (person who is not wholesome) · ja 癌 (person who is not wholesome) · nl rotte appel (person who is not wholesome) · sv rötägg (person who is not wholesome) · es mal elemento (person who is not wholesome) · cmn 老鼠屎 (person who is not wholesome) · af vrot appel (person who is not wholesome) · es oveja negra (person who is not wholesome) · de schwarzes Schaf (person who is not wholesome) · de faules Ei (person who is not wholesome) · es manzana podrida (person who is not wholesome) · it mela marcia (person who is not wholesome) · fi mätämuna (person who is not wholesome) · fr mauvaise graine (person who is not wholesome) · pl czarna owca (person who is not wholesome)