Bad seed


noun
(US & Canadian, Austral, informal) a person who is seen as being congenitally disposed to wrongdoing and likely to be a bad influence on others
Contemporary Examples

We then spent a few minutes talking about wine categories that have been killed by one bad seed.
The Secrets of Matchmaking Katie Workman August 10, 2009

In 1954, no one had met anyone like her, or the novel that contained her: ‘The bad seed.’
American Dreams: A Best-Selling Pint-Sized Psychopath Nathaniel Rich June 28, 2014

The bad seed is the story of how Christine becomes aware that her daughter is, in modern terminology, a psychopath.
American Dreams: A Best-Selling Pint-Sized Psychopath Nathaniel Rich June 28, 2014

The bad seed would ultimately sell more than a million copies, leading to a hit stage adaptation and an Oscar-nominated film.
American Dreams: A Best-Selling Pint-Sized Psychopath Nathaniel Rich June 28, 2014

Historical Examples

But the bad seed was sown, and in time we reaped the bitter fruits.
The Monctons Susanna Moodie

Those who preach, or teach, sow good or bad seed, which takes root in the mind or heart.
Young Folks’ Bible in Words of Easy Reading Josephine Pollard

Treachery breeds treachery, duplicity is a bad seed to sow for loyalty, and the Manx people were divided in their allegiance.
The Little Manx Nation – 1891 Hall Caine

Sin spreads misery around it only when there is ground ready for the bad seed.
Cobwebs and Cables Hesba Stretton

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