T-learning # Idiom
Speak Like a Native

bad egg

Choose the correct definition a, b or c.

a) an evil influence

Well done ! That’s the right answer.

a bad egg is someone who behaves in a bad or dishonest way.

French translation

Une personne qui est sous une mauvaise influence, quelqu’un à qui on ne peut faire confiance, un sale type.

...................................................

Examples in context

‘Midday Scan : DUI arrest unearths bad egg in Seattle police force

A moving collection of victim biographies adds depth and emotion to Washington’s gun violence problem, Greg Nickels gets his feelings hurt at the state Democratic Convention, and a DUI arrest unearths a bad egg at the Seattle Police Department. ‘

Crosscut.com, June 4, 2012

............

A Bad Egg : Joseph Patrick Larkin

Joseph Patrick Larkin may or may not be a rotten human being ; what you think isn’t important. (Except that it is, desperately so.) The author and artist behind The Arcade of Cruelty, an autobiographical comic-with-writing in a big, plush package, dances nimbly across the line between the persona on the page and the charmer on the phone, one disavowing the other in rapid succession.

also-ran.com, 2011

...................................................

Everyday usage

He’s a bad egg ! Don’t believe anything he says.

Mark has been caught driving under the influence a couple of times. He has been in and out of jail for being such a bad egg !

b) a killjoy

Sorry, wrong answer. Please try again.

c) an uninspired person

Sorry, wrong answer. Please try again.


Missed last week’s phrase ? Catch up here