bad apple

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a discontented, troublemaking, or dishonest person.

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

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Etymology

Origin of bad apple

From the proverb “one bad apple spoils the barrel”

Example Sentences

My husband is with me in kicking Mia out and telling his relatives to stuff it but thinks Mia was just one bad apple and argues that our other tenants worked out pretty well.

From Slate • Mar. 13, 2024

Richardson compared it to putting someone in jail for over a month because “there might be a bad apple in the bunch.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 10, 2023

There's also the infamous "bad apple" ideology, which Helen Rosner poetically writes about with incisive, stunning wit in The Atlantic.

From Salon • Oct. 21, 2022

“Just because you’ve got one bad apple in the box doesn’t mean the whole box is bad,” Mark Young said.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 16, 2022

“Headmistresses are always so cooperative. They’d rather expel a bad apple or two than risk their school getting into the newspapers for the wrong reasons. Who can blame them?”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell