'A few bad apples' is a phrase Americans have heard more than a few times recently as protests against police brutality, spurred by the death of George Floyd, continue throughout the U.S.
As time passed, other versions of the idiom formed."The rotten apple spoils his companion" appears in published work by Benjamin Franklin in 1736. That one eventually morphed to,"One bad apple spoils the barrel," with the ending varying to baskets or bins. But by the end of the 19th century, the proverb seemed to disappear almost entirely, and when it returned in the 20th century, its meaning shifted in a significant way.
Zimmer said losing the visual of the"barrel" and rotten apples itself contributed to the shift in phrasing, adding that proverbs often stick around in language longer than the things they originally refer to. "If the previous image [of a rotten apple] isn't related to our lives significantly anymore, it sort of disconnects it from its original context. And once the phrase is out there again and people are saying 'one bad apple,' you think, 'What could that mean?' Then you can assign it new meaning."
Without the reminder of rotting apples, people were free to draw their own conclusion. An important influence in establishing a new meaning came in the 1970s, when the Osmonds released their hit song"It's basically saying, 'Well, don't worry, it's fine,'" Zimmer said.
One bad apple became a few bad apples as the phrase slowly became a defense for a few rogue cops. Reports show officials used the flipped proverb after the
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