a bad workman always blames his tools »
It is not the tools we use which make us good, but rather how we employ them.
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a good voice to beg bacon »
Said in ridicule of a bad voice.
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ark ruffian »
Rogues who, in conjunction with watermen, robbed, and sometimes murdered, on the water, by picking a quarrel with the passengers in a boat, boarding it, plundering, stripping, and throwing them overboard, etc. A species of badger.
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as you sow, so shall you reap »
The personal consequences of one's actions are in proportion to the good or bad intentions towards others.
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at odds »
on bad terms
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bad apple »
A person who is not wholesome, honest, or trustworthy, especially one who has an adverse influence on others.
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bad blood »
A serious feud or grudge.
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bad blood »
Feelings of hostility or ill will.
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bad egg »
Someone whose behaviour is reprehensible or irresponsible; a rogue.
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bad egg »
disreputable character
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bad for you »
Unhealthy.
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bad iron »
Bad luck.
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bad joke »
A situation that is badly planned, or illogical.
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bad luck »
ill-fortune
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bad money drives out good »
Debased coinage (with low levels of precious metals) replaces purer coinage (with higher levels of precious metals).(metaphorically) Mediocre talent drives away real talent.
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bad news »
An irritating, troublesome, or harmful person, situation, or thing.
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bad news »
News of unpleasant, unfortunate or sad events.
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bad penny »
A counterfeit or damaged penny.
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bad penny »
A person or thing which is unpleasant, disreputable, or otherwise unwanted, especially one which repeatedly appears at inopportune times.
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bad taste in one's mouth »
A feeling of disappointment and frustration.
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bad taste in one's mouth »
A feeling of guilt, responsibility, or embarrassment as to cause nausea.
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bad taste in one's mouth »
A feeling something is morally despicable as to cause nausea.
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bad to the bone »
Completely bad and evil; pure evil.
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badge bunny »
A woman who is romantically attracted to police officers and who seeks out their companionship.
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bash in »
To break or dent badly by hitting violently.
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beat the crap out of »
To beat really badly.
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beat the shit out of »
To beat really badly.
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beat up »
To feel badly guilty and accuse oneself over something. Usually followed by over.
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better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness »
In the face of bad times or hopelessness, it is more worthwhile to do some good, however small, in response than to complain about the situation.
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black »
Bad; evil.
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blot one's copy book »
To damage one's own reputation through bad behavior.
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blow chunks »
To be very bad, inadequate, unpleasant, or miserable; to thoroughly suck.
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break up »
Of a telephone conversation, to cease to be understandable because of a bad connection.
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bring down »
To make someone feel bad emotionally.
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bum steer »
Bad advice, regardless of intention.
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carrot and stick »
Simultaneous rewards for good behavior and punishments for bad behavior.
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catmeat »
Someone who has been badly beaten.
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coug it »
To suddenly lose a contest through reversal of fortune, mistakes, or bad judgment. The phrase is analogous to "blow it", or "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory".
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curate's egg »
A thing which has good and bad parts.
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don't shoot the messenger »
The bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news.
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down and out »
In trouble; in a bad time or situation or having very bad luck.
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down on one's luck »
Unlucky or undergoing a period of bad luck, especially with respect to financial matters.
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every cloud has a silver lining »
In every bad situation there is an element of good1881, National Academy of Code Administration (U.S.), Folio, page 417:Every cloud has a silver lining; but in the old-fashioned meeting-houses every cloud of hymnal melody generally had a nasal lining before the congregation...1887, Shakers, Religion, page 36:that "a little reserve and thou'lt fail surely," will prove to be true in our experience. Every cloud has a silver lining and so has every sorrow,1918, George Jean Nathan, Performing Arts, page 222:But the most popular attitude toward what we may call "sad" plays is the peculiar one of believing that, since every cloud has a silver lining,
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every silver lining has a cloud »
Every good situation has the potential to turn bad.2007, Diab A. Shetayh, Actuality : The Reality RequiemA great partnership isn't a self-maintaining entity. Perseverance and persistence make it thrive. For every silver lining has a cloud. Ignorance of this reality is not an option.
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get away with murder »
To do something bad or illegal and not be punished.
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get out of bed on the wrong side »
To start the day in a bad mood for no apparent reason.
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get the bacon bad »
To be morbidly obese.
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give away the store »
To transact, trade, or negotiate badly, by paying, providing, or conceding too much to the other party.
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go bad »
putrefy
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go to pot »
To come to a bad end.
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gut factor »
Feelings about what feels right or wrong, good or bad. An inner persuasion that one may feel convinced is the appropriate decision.
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ham it up »
To act or emote, especially to overact or act badly.
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hang paper »
To write a bad check.
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harsh one's mellow »
To make someone feel bad emotionally.
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ill health »
A state of illness, or bad health.
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it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good »
There is usually something of benefit to someone, no matter how bad the situation.
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knock on wood »
A self-directive to undertake the customary action to ward off bad luck.
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life's a bitch »
An expression of acceptance of misfortune.1950, Joy Davidman, Weeping Bay, page 184:She'd have been willing enough to use them, poor dead little bitch. Life's a bitch. Life's a bad joke.
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make a pig's ear of »
To do badly; to make a mess of.
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make head or tail of »
To determine to be good or bad.
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managerial inbreeding »
Bad management, caused by managers making poor selection choices in recruitment, rewards, and promotions of the staff that report to them, leading to another generation of managers who lack the necessary skill sets to reward and promote the most effective staff.
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marry in haste, repent at leisure »
Getting married too soon will lead to a bad marriage.
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misfortunes never come singly »
bad things or situations always come in groups, they never come in a single way.
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mixed bag »
Something tending to have both good and bad results or characteristics; something having a mixture of advantages and disadvantages.
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mixed blessing »
Something that has both good and bad features.
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no news is good news »
A lack of information about a situation suggests that nothing bad has happened.
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no slouch »
Pretty good; not bad.
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nobody's perfect »
Used when someone's mistakes or flaws are acknowledged, to remind that everyone else makes mistakes and has flaws1995, New York Magazine Vol. 28, No. 5, 30 January 1995, The de-moralization of society (Book Review)Hypocrisy, particularly in sexual matters, is excused on the grounds that hey, nobody's perfect, and at least folks back then felt bad enough to lie.2000, Madonna, Nobody's PerfectI feel so sad. What I did wasn't right. I feel so bad and I must say to you: Sorry, but nobody's perfect. Nobody's perfect. What did you expect? I'm doing my best
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not bad »
Reasonably good.
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not half bad »
Pretty good; okay; decent.
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nothing to sneeze at »
Not bad; decent; acceptable; worthwhile.
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oh, well »
An expression of disappointment or resignation; too bad; pity.
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on its merits »
Considering only intrinsic good points and bad points, without prejudice or other considerations, such as procedural ones.
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one of his majesty's bad bargains »
A worthless soldier, a malingeror.
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one of those days »
A bad day.
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out of the frying pan, into the fire »
From an already bad situation to a worse one.
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pardon my French »
Please excuse my swearing or bad language.
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plead the fifth »
To refuse to answer a question, or refuse to speak, especially when the response would reflect badly on the speaker.
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prevention is better than cure »
it is better to prevent the creation of a bad thing, than to destroy it.
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reap what one sows »
To receive as a reward or harvest in the same measure as one's exertions, in a good or a bad sense. To receive justice.
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shape up »
To improve; to correct one's bad habits or behavior.
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shit happens »
Bad things happen, and there is nothing we can do about it.
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something awful »
Intensely or extremely; badly; in the worst way.
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start off on the wrong foot »
To begin badly; especially, to begin a relationship badly.
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swear off »
To quit or cease completely, or to promise to quit, as of a bad habit.
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take the biscuit »
To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious.
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take the cake »
To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious.
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the fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get »
(vulgar) The sexual satisfactions that one receives from a spouse or romantic partner are not sufficient to compensate for the significant periods of bad faith and unpleasant treatment which such relationships routinely involve.1971, Allen Churchill, The Literary Decade, ISBN 9780135375228:Years later she expressed her disillusionment with sex by saying, "The fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get."1999, Ben Sonnenberg, Lost Property: Memoirs and Confessions of a Bad Boy, ISBN 9781582430454, p. 93:Maitland got drunk at his parties and threw his arm around you and pulled you over to his wife and made you look down her dress, saying, "The trouble with marriage is that the fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get."2008, Joseph Heywood, Blue Wolf In Green Fire, ISBN 9781599213590, p. 63:"I can't believe a little pussy got me into dis mess." "Shit happens," Service said. "Sometimes the fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get."
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thick and thin »
Both good and bad times.
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think of England »
To tolerate or endure bad sex. Used in conjunction with "I just lie on my back and.." "I just go through the motions and..." etc.
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throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick »
Try the same thing (or similar things) often enough, and, even if the general standard is poor, sometimes one will be successful.2001, And still no one is shouting stop. read in The Kingdom archives at [1] on 02 Nov 06,Many team managers are of the philosophy that if you throw enough mud at the wall some of it will stick. They believe that team preparation is all about physical fitness. They run the players into the ground and they believe they will be "flying on the day".2001, Robert McCrum, Let them eat cake, in The Observer 16 Dec 01, read on Guardian Unlimited site at [2] on 02 Nov 06,Australian publishing boomed and in the past 10 years the country's literary culture has undergone a mini golden age, capped by Carey's triumph at the 2001 Booker Prize. As one Australian arts administrator said to me many years ago: 'Listen, mate, if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick.'2001, Chris Collin, Re: 2-cp speys on The Strathspey Server mailing list archive at [3] on 02 Nov 06,I am finding that "if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick". It doesn't always work of course (especially on the nights when the class is mostly the beginners), but the class seems to thrive on the challange.2005, Ray Craft (poster on The right scale blog), Fitzhooie and his Burden, read at [4] on 02 Nov 06,Prosecutors everywhere have bad habits of overcharging lots of cases, knowing that if the throw enough mud at the wall some of it will stick.2005, Sean Kelleher, Spike Milligan: His part in our downfall in Business 07 Aug 05, read at [5] on 02 Nov 06,As long as there is negligible regulation and enforcement anyone can actually try and do the job...Weak regulation allows the industry to build strategies on full time recruitment. The theory goes: throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick.c2005, Everything You've Learned About Marketing Is Wrong, read on LINC Performance website at [6] on 02 Nov 06,They have the money to continue to believe in the repetition side of the equation. You throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick. But it still isn
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to hell in a handbasket »
To a bad state of affairs quickly.
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too bad »
It is unfortunate that.
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too bad »
That's a pity; that's unfortunate.
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tough luck »
Bad luck.
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turn over a new leaf »
To engage in self-improvement; to begin a good habit or shed a bad habit.
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turn the air blue »
To speak a stream of bad language; to curse and swear.
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wash out »
To cancel due to bad weather.
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what goes around comes around »
The status eventually returns to its original value after completing some sort of cycle.A person's actions, whether good or bad, will often have consequences for that person.
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when it rains, it pours »
If a person encounters bad luck, more bad luck will follow.
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willful ignorance »
A bad faith decision to avoid becoming informed about something so as to avoid having to make undesirable decisions that such information might prompt. It may also be shown as for a person to have no clue in a decision but still goes ahead in their decision.
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wouldn't you know it »
Expresses dismay or annoyance, especially at bad luck or misfortune.
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you are what you eat »
If you eat well, you will be well; but if you eat badly you will feel bad
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you can't polish a turd »
(vulgar) Something inherently bad cannot be improved.
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