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

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

From BBC

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

The Q&A covered so much more, but many glommed onto the perceived slights against her current production, with “1776” co-director Jeffrey Page posting an indirect Facebook post to a “nameless person” whom he called “ungrateful and unwise” and “rotten to the core,” among other comments.

From Seattle Times

Baroness Lawrence, the mother of Stephen Lawrence, says the Met Police force is still "rotten to the core", 30 years after her son was murdered.

From BBC

“He double-crosses Rockford again and again. He’s always getting in trouble, and Rockford always has to bail him out. … I confess that I’ve never understood why Rockford likes Angel so much, because he’s rotten to the core. But there’s something lovable about him. I don’t know what it is, but it’s all Stuart’s doing.”

From Washington Post