A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

bad boy • bad man
bad boy —(also: Peck’s bad boy) 
1
. an unruly or mischievous
child: He was not a bad boy, but he did have one problem: he
refused to brush his teeth. 2. an adult person defying the ac-
cepted moral or artistic conventions: Michael was the bad boy
who stole Tara’s heart and eloped with her.
back drop
– 28 –

---

bad man —
1
. a morally depraved, wicked man: He resented
the fact that his mother had to be living with such a bad man
as Khun Chang. 2. (U.S. coll.) a gunman; a villain: He even
appointed a typical “bad man”— that is, manslayer — to office
as a proof of his fondness for Arizona.
Badlands, the • badlands
Badlands, the —(U.S.) the barren waste region in South
Dakota: Until recently, buffalo had roamed the Badlands.
badlands —barren terrain where soils have been eroded by
wind and water: Ground is carved by rain-wash producing
an almost impassable surface generally referred to as “bad-
lands.”
bad loser • two-time loser
bad loser —a person who loses a game in poor spirit: We
could say Rhydian was a bad loser, but then again we could
say that Leon was a bad winner.
two-time loser —
1
. a contestant who loses twice: “Two-time
nominee” sounds so much nicer than the alternative — two-
time loser — doesn’t it? 2. (sl.) a twice-convicted criminal:
Madill was a two-time loser who did time in prison for bur-
glary. He carried the gun everywhere.
bad money • bad penny, a
bad money —a forged currency: “To ring the changes” in
low life means to change bad money for good.
Note: 
The expression does not fully correlate in meaning with
the phrase good money—
1
. money that is genuine, not counter-
feit: They’ve got some good money, as well as bogus notes. 2.
a fairly large amount of money: But for his inherent meanness,
he would have gladly paid good money to be rid of her.
bad penny, a —an objectionable person or thing that can be
counted upon to reappear (in allusion to the saying “a bad penny
always turns up”): I persevered … to disuade the dog from
darkening my door again but little did I realise at the time,
this was a bad penny we were dealing with.