Search

bad boy

noun phrase

An impressive and perhaps dangerous device; puppy, sucker: You have written plenty of checks for your Harley, maybe even a few while right in the saddle of your bad boy (1980s+)
Contemporary Examples

Yes, American television viewers had fallen in love with Simon Cowell, the dangerous British bad boy with, secretly, a big heart.
Piers Morgan’s Comeback Strategy Shelley Ross February 26, 2014

Sheen has always been a bad boy, which is part of his appeal—to men and women.
Notes on Charlie Sheen and the End of Empire Bret Easton Ellis March 15, 2011

But Bush never stopped being a bad boy; he only did it in more subtle, arguably socially acceptable ways.
Why Bush Loves Violence Justin Frank January 11, 2009

He clearly has been trying be seen as a bad boy for the past few years.
Justin Bieber or Richard Sherman, Who’s the ‘Thug’? Dean Obeidallah January 22, 2014

Target(s): Notorious B.I.G., Lil Kim, Puff Daddy, bad boy Family, Mobb Deep, Junior M.A.F.I.A.
The 9 Greatest Rap Disses: Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, 2Pac & More Marlow Stern August 14, 2013

Historical Examples

“I’ll do that,” replied Tommy, not stopping to think how wicked was the act which the bad boy proposed to him.
Proud and Lazy Oliver Optic

He is a bad boy, and likes to turn his ingenuity to purposes of mischief.
The Teacher Jacob Abbott

He didn’t like me, and I was always put in as a bad boy, and I came to so many untimely ends I got sick of it.
Melchior’s Dream and Other Tales Juliana Horatia Ewing

He was ever a bad boy, but I did not think he would come to this.
Frank Merriwell Down South Burt L. Standish

Men laughed when they said he was a bad boy, as if they did not quite believe their own assertion.
Martin Rattler R.M. Ballantyne