bad apple

noun

, Informal.

a discontented, troublemaking, or dishonest person:
In any group of average citizens there are bound to be a few bad apples.

From the proverb “one bad apple spoils the barrel”

This is the old trick of finding one bad apple and extrapolating away to beat the band.

The Republican Party will blame the culture of corruption on one bad apple named Jim Greer and move on.

“And you are selling inferior silk by your pretty face, just as a fine rind may cover a bad apple,” he retorted.

Can one speckled and bad apple in a barrel of diseased apples turn the other apples good?

Browse