BAD THING


Meaning of BAD THING in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ n. ]

[very common; from the 1930 Sellar & Yeatman parody "1066 And All That"] Something that can't possibly result in improvement of the subject. This term is always capitalized, as in "Replacing all of the 9600-baud modems with bicycle couriers would be a Bad Thing". Oppose Good Thing . British correspondents confirm that Bad Thing and Good Thing (and prob. therefore Right Thing and Wrong Thing ) come from the book referenced in the etymology, which discusses rulers who were Good Kings but Bad Things. This has apparently created a mainstream idiom on the British side of the pond. It is very common among American hackers, but not in mainstream usage here. Compare Bad and Wrong .

Jargon File English vocabulary.      Английский словарь жаргона.