a rotten apple



a rotten apple

A person who negatively impacts an entire group of people through his or her words or actions. Taken from the proverb "a rotten apple spoils the bunch." Before you accuse the entire department of wrongdoing, you should try to find the rotten apple that initially caused the problem.
See also: apple, rotten

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Katerina-Macedonian, Russian, Bulgarian, Greek, Late Roman
Olujimi-Western African, Yoruba
Zeno-Ancient Greek (Latinized), Italian
Jimmie['dʒimi]
Anik-Indian, Hindi, Bengali
Pam[pæm]