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bad sort, a

bad sort, a idiom

An unpleasant, mean person, as in We cautioned Bill about his friend, who was clearly a bad sort. The antonym is a good sort, a pleasant, kind person, as in She's a good sort, always helping her neighbors. The latter is stronger than not a bad sort, as in He seems ill-tempered now and then, but he's not a bad sort. All three terms use a sort in the sense of “kind of person.” [Second half of 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.