rotten to the core

Idioms  

1. Thoroughly bad, as in It seems that this police unit is rotten to the core, involved in numerous extortion schemes. The noun core here denotes the central part or heart of anything or anyone. The idiom was first recorded in 1804.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rotten to the core

Backing abolition, Katie Kendrick, the founder of National Leasehold Campaign called the current system "rotten to the core".

From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2024

That was a recognition of the fact that Mexico’s old-guard, pro-government union system was rotten to the core and had artificially held down wages for decades.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2023

The strategy angered lawyers for cancer plaintiffs, who called it "rotten to the core" in court.

From Reuters ● Feb. 25, 2022

If he's rotten to the core, he'll cotton to the roar.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2021

You have wound up by trying to drag me into a business which is rotten to the core.

From Jacob's Ladder by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim