bad egg
Use Bad egg in a sentencebad egg
noun
a person who is bad, dishonest, or unreliable; a good-for-nothing: a bad egg who had served several years in prison.
Origin:
1850–55, Americanism
1850–55, Americanism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To bad egg
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
| Main Entry: | bad egg |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | a corrupt or evil person, cf. good egg |
00:10
Bad egg
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| Main Entry: | bad egg |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | See good egg |
Slang Dictionary
bad egg definition
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
bad egg
An individual who turns out to be rotten, as in You can't trust him
he's simply a bad egg. Although egg had been used for various kinds of person (young, good, bad) since Shakespeare's day, this transfer of a seemingly wholesome food that, when opened, turns out to be rotten took place only in the mid-1800s. An early definition appeared in The Atheneum of 1864: "A bad egg ... a fellow who had not proved to be as good as his promise." In contrast, the schoolyard saying Last one in is a rotten egg does not have any special significance other than as a way of urging others to join an activity, jump in the water, or the like. Also see good egg.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Well one bad egg often ruined that for the whole bunch.
People have well rural that now natural with bad egg.
Heading off to college is tough enough without getting paired with a bad egg for a roommate.
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