bad apple

noun

, Informal.

1. a discontented, troublemaking, or dishonest person:

   In any group of average citizens there are bound to be a few bad apples.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bad apple¹

From the proverb “one bad apple spoils the barrel”

Example Sentences

If law enforcement has only a few bad apples that need to be rooted out, I want to see the good ones.

From The Daily Beast

Like there’s no way to look at this and not say that there isn’t kind of a systemic set of issues, including what feels like not one or two bad apples but a lot of bad apples.

From Ozy

I used to always say the few bad apples, and I just had a conversation about 30 minutes ago with some of my chiefs about, some of the guys are mad because you’re saying we don’t just have a few bad apples, that we have bushels of apples.

From Ozy

However, I do not believe that there are enough bad apples to say that there is a problem in policing.

From Ozy

I know far too many officers, and I also know from officers that the worst thing that can happen in the police force is a bad apple.

From Ozy

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg