Slang dictionary
bad to the bone
[bad tuh th uh bohn]
What does bad to the bone mean?
Inspired by the title and lyrics of American musician George Thorogood鈥檚 1982 song, bad to the bone can mean rebellious in an exciting, attractive way as well as irredeemably bad.
Where does bad to the bone come from?
The phrase bad to the bone comes from, and was popularized by, the 1982 blues-rock song of that same name by George Thorogood and the Destroyers. Throughout the lyrics, Thorogood鈥檚 speaker brags of his ability to charm women, memorably stuttering the song鈥檚 signature phrase as 鈥渂-b-b-bad to the bone.鈥�
In this context, Thorogood is using bad in a literal sense of 鈥渨icked鈥� or 鈥渋mmoral,鈥� but he is also playing on the word鈥檚 inverted slang sense of 鈥渆xcellent.鈥� Green鈥檚 Dictionary of Slang traces this sense to the 19th century, noting that it implies something 鈥渂ad in establishment eyes and thus good in those of any outlaw/criminal, drug or other minority culture.鈥� Bo Diddley (who appeared in the 鈥淏ad to the Bone鈥� music video) released a song 鈥淚鈥檓 Bad鈥� in the 1950s, using bad in the same sense.
To have any characteristic to the bone means to be thoroughly infused with it, an idiom dating back at least to the 1400s and persisting in the English language ever since. An 1817 history of the British Parliament, for example, reported an argument that French immigrants were 鈥淔rench to the bone, in connexion as well as principle.鈥� The blues singer Barbecue Bob used the phrase in a song titled 鈥淐hocolate to the Bone鈥� in 1928.
Examples of bad to the bone
Who uses bad to the bone?
Following the release of Thorogood鈥檚 song bad to the bone, the phrase made its way into common use to refer to someone, usually a male, who is aggressive or rebellious and often attractively so. The phrase is used in casual conversation, in social media, and in informal writing.
In some cases, unlike in the song, bad is used in its original, sense, making bad to the bone mean 鈥渋rredeemably bad.鈥� For example, Bad to the Bone was used as the title of a 1991 crime novel. A 1993 fitness book, as another example, described poor eating as bad to the bone. These instances riff on Thorogood鈥檚 song title.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of bad to the bone like most terms we define on 亚洲网紅露点, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of bad to the bone that will help our users expand their word mastery.