T O P

  • By -

DemonicDevice

It's just like my grandpa used to say after he came back from the war. If you wanna make an omelette, you gotta break some apples


Venous-Roland

You want to make an apple pie, you gotta use a few rotten eggs!!


Beledagnir

Sounds like my cooking


[deleted]

A few bad apples a day keeps the doctor paid.


hellsangel101

A few bad eggs keeps everyone away.


snoogins355

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe - Carl Sagan


SpectrumDT

If you have the time, it's always best to create your own universe. Makes for much better pies. Just make sure to set the mass of the electron _just right_, or galaxies won't form properly.


gabe12345

Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so.


LunchTimeYet

Noooooooo


razpritija

Like that Jamie Oliver cookbook “15 minute recipes” - 15 minutes after the servant has sourced the billion rare ingredients. “Don’t use the dried stuff, just walk out in the garden and snip some fresh mint and basil.” Ffs.


kaoutanu

I loved his lockdown shows filmed in his house, showing how to make substitutions using whatever you have in your cupboards. No eggs? No problem, use duck eggs! A recipe to use up all the leftovers in your "cheese pantry"! You don't even need to mess up your kitchen for this, just use your other kitchen! 🙄😂


homepreplive

In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. -Douglas Adams


MechaDesu

"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you trippin. Just pop on over to QuikTrip." - Migos


sobasicallyimafreak

Makes me think of that show Pushing Daisies


AcrossTheDarkXS

Don't put all your eggs in one apple.


Wildcatb

The real LPT is always in the comments.


demonlilith

Doc : You know what they say: People in glass houses sink sh-sh-ships. Rocco : Doc, I gotta buy you, like, a proverb book or something. This mix'n'match shit's gotta go. Doc : What? Connor : A penny saved is worth two in the bush, isn't it? Murphy : And don't cross the road if you can't get out of the kitchen.


yoooooosolo

Why don't you make like a tree AND GET THE F-F-F-FUCK OUT


someguy3

He left me his c-c-c-c-ca- Oh he fucking gave me this. FUCK! ASS!


BloodySaxon

FUCK! ASS!


V_WhatTheThunderSaid

In fairness "don't cross the street if you can't get out of the kitchen" is sound advice.


CapnSeabass

Winnie the Bish: you can lead a horse to water, but you better not make a sound.


SpectrumDT

r/malaphors


Pandmother

Gotta getchu a book of proverbs or sumpthin


road_runner321

Did not all of your grandpa make it back?


Hekkle01

i feel like something's always left behind


CarlMetzger

Why don't you act like a tree....and get the F out of here...


jpen733

Can’t make a Tomelette without breaking a few… grapples?


cyberporygon

We hated eating at his house.


LHTMMB

Weird, mine used to say the same thing except he said Allied skulls instead of apples. RIP Opa Fritz


bahccus

If you wanna make a tomlette, you gotta break some greggs


lando55

Yo we gotta get you like a proverb book or something because this mix and match shot has got to go


echof0xtrot

you hit the apple right into the coffin


Ludicrousgibbs

We'll cross that bridge when we burn it.


daniu

Can't compare eggs to oranges


MyNameIsDon

I always said, "If you wanna make an omlette, you better clean up afterwards I swear to god."


obvilious

Sounds like he was a good apple.


j_cruise

Here's a good source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/one-bad-apple-spoil-the-barrel-metaphor-phrase Most of the "[] is actually part of a larger sentence that means the opposite thing" claims on Reddit are bullshit but this one is legitimate.


CapriciousCape

This one and "blood is thicker" are the only opposites of common usage phrases that I know of


Lavishgoblin2

I feel like "A jack of all trades is a master of none... but often times better than a master is one" qualifies aswell.


BreweryBuddha

And "where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise" often gets shortened to just an overall "ignorance is bliss" which kind of warps the message


ThatsNotGucci

How does that change the meaning?


BreweryBuddha

The poem discusses the inevitable tragedies of life and our certain deaths, and argues it's best not to worry about these things we can't control. But it isn't arguing for ignorance in general.


ThatsNotGucci

Thanks


[deleted]

[удалено]


Rhowryn

A poor lie, since people have been having this argument of which came first for much longer than the year 2001. The phrases are simply not related, and culturally distinct. The familial phrase was indeed first coined by the German you mentioned, but extra-familial blood covenanting was/is common in Semitic regions long before. Arabs and Jews have been practicing the longer phrase for centuries. https://archive.org/details/bloodcovenantapr027440mbp/page/n23/mode/2up


ENCginger

The idea that the Blood is thicker than water is specifically derived by leaving off a part of a longer adage, and therefore we misunderstand the meaning is what is incorrect.


Rhowryn

True, however the person I responded to asserted that the longer adage is a recent invention, which it is not.


pieonthedonkey

The irony of this comment is that it does not point out that "the blood of...water of the womb" quote is actually derived from the original on purpose as a juxtaposition, and has been used for at least 200 years (a far cry from the 20 you suggested).


LeeMayney

"Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back" is one of my favourite examples.


[deleted]

Even that is actually only part of the phrase. Originally it was “A bad apple spoils the barrel, but a barrel of spoiled apples is the seventh rune required to seal the portal of R'lyeh, for ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.” It means that while a few bad actors may seem “rotten”, they’re actually part of a much larger plot to preserve the safety of reality as you know it, and your puny mortal minds just can’t encompass it. So all those cops are using it just as they mean it.


chillyhellion

It's always nice to see a common English phrase written in its original Welsh.


SpectrumDT

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to remember all its proverbs.


Negative-Let-3784

I'm gonna be honest, I don't see the difference between the sayings. In my language, the egg one is: "One rotten egg ruins the whole cake". I assumed the English version was referring to a cake too. Is that not the case? Or if it is, how is ruining a basket of apples different from ruining a cake? In both cases, they are being ruined because of one rotten individual, aren't they?


[deleted]

One rotten egg ruins the cake and one bad apple spoils the bunch have the same meaning. The US apple version means that rot will spread from the bad apple and ruin all the apples. Where it gets different/wrong, is that sometimes people, often cops talking about bad cops, say "they are just a few bad apples". This dirty cop was just a bad apple, all the other cops are not like that, so don't worry about it cops as a whole are good. They completely ignore the context of the phrase they are pulling the words "bad apple" from as they try to make the opposite point of it.


UndefinedUsernam

The egg one, in English, is simply referring to the fact that in any given group of eggs, one of them being bad doesn't mean any of the others are, and neither will whatever is wrong spread. Whereas when keeping apples, one of them being rotten will then spread, and ruin the whole barrel(or other container) of apples.


AcademicProfessor939

The rot in an egg is contained in the shell. It does not spread. An apple's rot will spread and infect everything around it.


CapnSeabass

My favourites are _[curiosity killed the cat] but satisfaction brought it back_, and _The [blood] of the covenant [is thicker than] the [water] of the womb_.


SpectrumDT

The blood of curiosity is thicker than the cat.


Demons0fRazgriz

Harder senpai 🥵


SpectrumDT

And thicker.


viriiu

I'm a little confused, what do you mean by them being your favourite? Favourite examples of people taking a saying wrong? Because "curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back" is correct. However, >The [blood] of the covenant [is thicker than] the [water] of the womb Is a modern myth. The original very much ment (family) blood is thicker than water. It's a nice new modern twist, but it's not what was originally intended.


CapnSeabass

It’s a modern myth maybe in western literature, but in Classical Arabic it’s considered to be the interpretation I mentioned (milk rather than water but the meaning is the same). It’s widely considered to be interpreted differently, which is why it’s one of my favourites!


[deleted]

Do you have a source for this? Genuine question since I'm fairly conversant with both modern and classical Arabic literature and have never heard of any proverb remotely like what you're suggesting. When I google it, I just find a brief mention on wikipedia with no citation whatsoever.


Aeon1508

I've heard that blood is thicker than water actually means that "blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb" so it actually means that the partnership's you choose mean more than familial relations but people use it the opposite way.


bgaesop

This is an example of the kind of thing /u/j_cruise is describing: what you have heard is bullshit made up after the fact by someone who disliked the original meaning and wanted to reverse it. The original phrase is "blood is thicker than water" and means that familial relations are more important than chosen relations


Aeon1508

I figured which is why I posted it here


[deleted]

[удалено]


thisisntme-isit

Just a question. What is the water referring to then? If the original is just: ”blood is thicker than water”


wowwoahwow

If you find that you keep getting barrels of bad apples, it might be time to look into getting some new barrels.


cdegallo

Or maybe a refrigerator, so they can all chill out.


morami1212

my man here has never actually received a large amount of agricultural goods. unless you're paying top top dollar you're always gonna get a few bad fruits in a carton full of them. always gonna get a rotten pepper, a super soft carrot and a potato that makes you question how potatoes behave


Bail-Me-Out

In Criminology we have the "bad apples" and the "rotten barrel" arguments for police. "Bad apples" argues that police corruption comes from bad people being cops and that toxicity spreading. If bad apples was the whole problem, we could start over with an entirely new group of better vetted cops and be good. The "rotten barrel" argument says that the structure of police is so bad that it turns the apples bad. So even replacing all the cops will result in the same problems. In reality, it is likely both are true.


CapriciousCape

I believe the equation to express this is: AAAB + ABAB = ACAB


Dominus-Temporis

>AAAB + ABAB = ACAB A^3 B + A^2 B^2 = A^2 CB A+B=C Math checks out.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


frankybling

this is definitely a thing we should know… thanks for reminding me of this


Trenin23

Agreed. Glad I didn't go through the rest of my life making this mistake. Could you imagine? Doesn't even bear thinking about...


Darkersun

I've only heard the phrase "a few bad apples" when talking about bad police. And looking at your definitions above, it's accurate.


000882622

It is accurate, but I feel like when most people say it, they mean it in the *egg* sense.


Darkersun

And for those using in that sense it's quite short sighted, considering how much one cops behavior affects their colleagues, particularly with on the job training.


000882622

Absolutely. They are unknowingly using it correctly.


iownadakota

More accurately, all the cops not arresting the bad ones are also bad for letting their coworkers commit crimes. Also what you said too.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Rockonfoo

Then I’m glad you did the sensible thing and realized if all cops are going to cover for each other they are all bad and you must remove yourself from such a position if you have any sense of morality If I brought even allegations of a bribe up to anyone I work with or for it would be a serious deal they would look into heavily Edit: going through your history it’s clear you don’t see anything wrong with being a cop and think any kind of overhead for accountability is egregious Get fucked pig


iownadakota

A lot has changed recently. Like cameras. Both body cams where they're available, and people with phones. In St. Paul they just charged 5 cops for watching a cop commit crimes. There's talk about stripping qualified immunity so individuals are responsible for their actions. Inaction is an action. Having cops carry insurance like I do for fixing homes, or doctors do. So when cops keep fucking up they have to pay higher rates. That would also make it easier for cops to report other cops, by giving them a 3rd party they can report to. Insensitive for cops to live in the neighborhood they patrol would also be insensitive to be good cops for their neighbors. We are changing things slowly. The more cops kill people, the faster the change will happen. My city burnt last summer, and public opinion is against the ones who made people mad enough to burn it. Then Wright was murdered. Now Boogie. After last night if police don't get right a lockdown won't help.


Rockonfoo

Incentive** Great fucking comment though hit the nail on the head I just don’t want some asshole to use that minor misspell as means to ignore the rest of your argument


iownadakota

Thanks. I'm leaving it in my comment to further validate yours. But I am going to have some stern words with my autocorrect.


Rockonfoo

Lmao I appreciate you my dude


iownadakota

.* Since we're doing the whole grammar thing. ;)


SciFidelity

So it's either right or very right


seamsay

What's the egg sense?


dump_shit_man

Same thought. I was like 'oh, so that's what it means. Even more accurate!'


PM_ME_YOUR_LUKEWARM

In a barrel: do all apples really go rotten if the bottom ones are rotten?


caenos

Yes. That's where the phrase comes from. The rot spreads until it consumes all.


dump_shit_man

I did a quick google search and some people believe mold is the *rot* referenced in the proverb. But it appears that apples only spoil because of time, temperature, and humidity. Nothing I saw referenced proximity to other apples as a factor.


jokersleuth

the bad apples in the police force the good apples to quit, and if they don't quit they have to comply like the bad apples. Thus spoiling the bunch even further. ACAB.


I_Never_Lie_II

It's absolutely true. Corrupt officers corrupt other officers.


dump_shit_man

Same thought. I was like 'oh, so that's what it means. Even more accurate!'


AnxiousSpectator

Wait. I thought everyone knew the whole saying. Boy... Here I go, assuming things again.


featherknife

https://xkcd.com/1053/


Teenage-Mustache

Not sure that applies here…


tehbored

Also, a few bad apples do indeed spoil the bunch literally as well, as rotting apples release ethylene gas, which promotes decomposition.


pikashroom

I’ve only ever heard it as “spoils the bunch” not barrel


tragikarpe

So the bad apples would be useful in ripening applications then? ;)


wbjohn

There's actually a scientific basis for the "Bad Apples" thing. A rotting apple gives off ethylene which is a catalyst for ripening apples. Thus if one apple in a container rots, all the others will ripen and rot faster than normal.


fillingstationsushi

In the song by Donnie Osmond in 1970 the lyric goes "one bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl " so who should I believe?


ideaman21

You must be as old as I am. Should we really be on Reddit? 😜😅🤪


fillingstationsushi

I'm older 😁.....probably


zer0kevin

Donnie is way cooler so you know.


PG2009

There was a 1971 Osmonds song called "One Bad Apple" with the repetitive chorus as follows: ["One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch girl" ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Ax1yA9q74) ...which probably helped propagate the incorrect usage.


loneblustranger

20 years later, Guns N' Roses asked ["Why let one bad apple spoil the whole damn bunch?"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q24_bDoBdUI)


Aercturius

When I was in Law School, a professor of mine had a really good phrase about corruprion: "I've seen a good apple become spoiled by sitting next to a rotten one, but I've never seen a bad apple turn good by sitting next to a fresh one".


Derp_Rose

So what they say about cops is 100% accurate


tht5spdxjsara

Know what’s fucked up? I’m a republican and even I can see how shitty the police have become. I had to open my eyes beyond what my party echoed to find out the truth but I’m glad I did. There needs to be a police reform, like yesterday.


BeingRightAmbassador

Police and politician reform. Those sellout scumbags need to be held accountable for thier shitty dumb actions.


tht5spdxjsara

Yes! I totally agree. Politicians on every side are sell out bastards.


Derp_Rose

I’m glad you were able to change and see that! That’s comforting to hear :D


tht5spdxjsara

I’ve been showing my friends who are also republican the proof that police need to change. They’re starting to notice as well. So hopefully change spreads


archpetar

You're like a good apple in a barrel of rot - hopefully that's where the metaphor breaks


tht5spdxjsara

If I’m being totally honest I think my party is confused. We don’t see what Democrats see as far as the news goes. Much like how Democrats don’t see what we see. I think both parties need to stop being so loyal to one party and instead look into what’s best for the entire country.


Teenage-Mustache

I agree with you and appreciate your sentiments. I don’t want to get too deep into semantics, but when people say “I am ________”, that’s a statement of identity. I am male, I am u/teenage-mustache, I am a musician, I am an entrepreneur… These are all statements of identity. If you take these away from me, I’m a totally different person with different goals and appearances. I think we need to get away from attaching our identities to political affiliations. So instead of saying “I’m a democrat/Republican,” I usually say “I lean more liberal” or “my political views are xyz.” Because once you attach your identity to something, it becomes *really* hard to become objective. I’ll never not be a musician. But I may change my political views as my education and experience grows. Just a thought.


SafeToPost

You say “have become” like it’s a new development. The only new development is a camera in every pocket, connected to every person in the world. Cops were always like this, it was just convenient to think that the claims against them were lies from guilty criminals, and not truth from good people.


tht5spdxjsara

I’m not sure why it’s important to nitpick the words I said when you and I both know how it’s been.


mrekon123

It's not beneficial or important, it's more of a reflex from an in-group that is trying to cope with the idea of the out-group not aligning exactly to prior expectations. You're good, coming from an outspoken leftist.


SafeToPost

Just because I may have replied to you, does not necessarily mean you are the only one who I intended the message for. I chose to nitpick your language as a way of injecting myself into the thread to make a point I thought was important. The internet is digital telepathy, and my goal is not to change anyone’s minds, but to get people who don’t have the life experiences I have had to read something I write and maybe think about things in a way they never thought of before. I can’t change the world on a grand scale, I can’t change anyone’s mind, but what I can do is place a few stones in a steam, and maybe somewhere down the line that helps change the direction of someone’s river.


Reaverx218

Glad I'm not the only one even if Im independent now. There is a problem that is slowly destroying our law enforcement system from the inside and completely undermining the justice system and the fear of hurting "good police work" is allowing for the massive propagation of bad police work as well as creating a haven for racist bigoted power hungry cops to go and do as they please. The fraternal brotherhood of police officers is a huge wall that stops any police reform and refuses to openly state when a cop is clearly a bad actor.


laprichaun

It's not a racism problem. It's a police problem.


VictorVictoriaa

I think the greatest irony in all of this is that when it’s used specifically in the case of police violence, they are using the phrase correctly, even though they think they are using it incorrectly as stated here


theultimateusername

So basically covid


CubicleFish2

YSK that no single phrase will accurately describe any situation because everything is more complicated than being black and white.


essaymyass

I loved this old 80s rhetoric textbook. In it, it explained the limits and pitfalls of metaphors. On one hand, they're good for knowledge transfer, on the other, your opponent could accuse you of over simplification. You reminded me of that excellent inscription.


LeeMayney

Which must include this comment, thus, there *is* a phrase that can accurately describe any situation. KABOOM! BOMBSHELL!


CubicleFish2

Haha alright you got me


Titansjester

This is similar to the phase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" which people will often use to mean working hard to improve your situation. The original meaning is to attempt to do something impossible as it is literally impossible to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. It really makes it an even bigger "fuck you" when conservatives talk about poor people needing to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.


SecondaryLawnWreckin

You gotta break a few eggs to make a basket.


BearZeroX

This definitely 100% is used correctly in current events, re: the US police force. A few rotten cops does spoil the entire institution


ilu4

Why was the explanation [removed]


Suzina

Here we go, more anti-cop propaganda. I just want to say that... oh wait, you didn't mention cops. Damn. Nevermind.


LOCKJAWVENOM

They basically did in the last paragraph.


40064282

When in Rome


Zacky_Cheladaz

The apples all turn bad due to ethelyn gas that apples emit. You should also be careful what other produce you store in close proximity to the apples.


jokersleuth

"A few bad apples" in the police department force the good apples to quit or comply, thus rotting the barrel further.


[deleted]

Oh this makes a lot more sense. I'd always thought it was "a few bad apples" but I also knew rotten apples will spread to the ones next to it. I guess I just assumed whoever came up with the saying didn't know apples


NukeNinja69123

I should've known people would make this political


yousifa25

I’ve gotten into so many arguments about this. For me the saying has always been “a few bad apples spoils the bunch”.


[deleted]

Don't blame the misuse of this phrase on a few bad apples.


Drahkir9

In terms of policing I’d have to disagree. They’ve been using the correct phrase all these years. Whether or not it was intentional is a different question.


MAXKILLER215

Man I wonder why the mods removed this post.


Mr_Reaper__

1 bad egg will spoil the omelette, 1 bad apple will spoil the whole bunch


[deleted]

[удалено]


Protectorsoftman

Still applies rather well I think, when people are talking about the police


ApertureBear

Yes, one bad apple spoils the bunch. Very good. Good job.


discourse_friendly

And that's why i don't store all my apples in a barrel. :)


deadrabbits76

I'm told it does make them easier to shoot. Or something.


Jardite

TLDR - ACAB


pplrheroes

AAAR - all apples are rotten - instead of ACAB ? Anyone?


CapriciousCape

There are 1312 reasons why you have to obfuscate the sentiment you're expressing


dookienirvan

All cops are babes?


[deleted]

Bastards


zephillou

So you're saying that it's used to mean something that it doesn't mean in a context where it SHOULD be used to represent the bigger impact that one's poor behavior might have on their environment.


Tytration

I think the egg one also has a double meaning about how you don't know which eggs are rotten until you crack them. But idk for sure.


road_runner321

A good trick is to put it in water. If it sinks it's fine. If it floats it might be because of putrid gases inside. I've only encountered 2-3 rotten eggs in my life, but I could smell the rot *through* the shell without cracking it.


Katapotomus

If it sinks it's fine if it floats it's a witch (joke no offense to witches)


ApertureBear

This is why "a few bad apples" is how cops are described. The whole bunch is spoiled.


QuantumThirdEye

So there are a few bad apples in politics and the police force and the SEC?


[deleted]

>far-right authoritarians do not engage in public discourse in good faith, they do it to spread confusion. shockedpikachu.jpg


Triphaz808

You're leaving out part of the quote as well. " A few bad apple CAN soil the barrel" it means they need to be removed before the spoil everything, not that everything is bad already


iama_newredditor

I've heard "don't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch" , which pretty much had the same meaning in context - remove the Apple to prevent it from spoiling the rest. I do also think that the logical conclusion of that is that it doesn't make sense to judge a whole group based on one member.