rotten apple
Word forms: rotten apples
countable noun
You can use rotten apple to talk about a person who is dishonest and therefore causes a lot of problems for the group or organization they belong to.
Police corruption is not just a few rotten apples.
Image of rotten apple
© Perutskyi Petro, Shutterstock
- get/be given the boot
- get benefits
- get blood from a stone
- get blood out of a stone
- get blood out of a stone/get blood from a stone
- get/build your hopes up
- get by
- get cold feet
- get/come to grips with
- get cracking
- get cracking
- get cramp
- get credit
- get divorced
- get down
- get down and dirty
- get down to
- get down to brass tacks
- get egg on your face
- get even
- get even
- get feedback
- get given the boot
- get/give so the bird
- get-go