Bad Thing

Bad Thing
 n.

   [very common; always pronounced as if capitalized. Orig. fr. the 1930
   Sellar & Yeatman parody of British history 1066 And All That, but
   well-established among hackers in the U.S. as well.] Something that
   can't possibly result in improvement of the subject. This term is
   always capitalized, as in "Replacing all of the DSL links with bicycle
   couriers would be a Bad Thing". Oppose {Good Thing}. British
   correspondents confirm that {Bad Thing} and {Good Thing} (and prob.
   therefore {Right Thing} and {Wrong Thing}) come from the book
   referenced in the etymology, which discusses rulers who were Good
   Kings but Bad Things. This has apparently created a mainstream idiom
   on the British side of the pond. It is very common among American
   hackers, but not in mainstream usage in the U.S. Compare {Bad and
   Wrong}.
    

Bad Thing

   <jargon> (From the 1930 Sellar & Yeatman parody "1066 And All
   That") Something that can't possibly result in improvement of
   the subject.  This term is always capitalised, as in
   "Replacing all of the 9600-baud modems with bicycle couriers
   would be a Bad Thing".

   Opposite: {Good Thing}.

   British correspondents confirm that {Bad Thing} and {Good
   Thing} (and probably therefore {Right Thing} and {Wrong
   Thing}) come from the book referenced in the etymology, which
   discusses rulers who were Good Kings but Bad Things.  This has
   apparently created a mainstream idiom on the British side of
   the pond.

   [{Jargon File}]