give a bad name to

Idioms  

1. Also,. Spoil the reputation of, as in Late deliveries are giving the company a bad name. The use of bad name (sometimes put as ill name) dates from about 1400, and the proverb “He that hath a ill name is half hanged” was included in numerous collections from 1546 on.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

give a bad name to

These criminals give a bad name to law-abiding gun owners, who go through the proper background checks to buy their guns.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 10, 2018

Can any one justly give a bad name to a young girl because she is confiding?

From Eyes Like the Sea by Mór Jókai

Louis," said he, "has talents and means: he is old and infirm; and will not, I think, choose to give a bad name to his reign.

From The History of Napoleon Buonaparte by J. G. (John Gibson) Lockhart

You can give a bad name to a Dog, And hang him by way of excuse; Whereas Hunger, of course, Is by far the Best Sauce For the Gander as well as the Goose.

From Perverted Proverbs A Manual of Immorals for the Many by Harry Graham

We’re not going to let you go ashore, and let you give a bad name to the ship and us.

From Dick Cheveley His Adventures and Misadventures by William H. C. Groome

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