one bad apple can spoil the barrel en · X
Etymology
From the observation that rot of a single fruit can spread to many fruit nearby.
Meanings
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One bad person or element can have a harmful influence on many others.
"One of our kittens started chewing on the chair the other day and now they're all doing it! Just goes to show that one bad apple can spoil the barrel."
Relateds
rotten to the core · bad egg · the fish rots from the head · rotten apple · bad apple · if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas
Synonyms
one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
Translations (5)
vi con sâu làm rầu nồi canh (one bad person or element can have a harmful influence on many others) · la pomum compunctum cito corrumpit sibi iunctum (one bad person or element can have a harmful influence on many others) · ms sebab nila setitik, rosak susu sebelanga (one bad person or element can have a harmful influence on many others) · ur ایک گندی مچھلی پورے تالاب کو گندہ کر دیتی ہے (one bad person or element can have a harmful influence on many others) · hi एक गंदी मछली पूरे तालाब को गंदा कर देती है (one bad person or element can have a harmful influence on many others)