Brewer's: Bad Lot

(A). A person of bad moral character, or one commercially unsound. Also a commercial project or stock of worthless value. The allusion is to auctioneering slang, meaning a lot which no one will bid for. So an inefficient soldier is called one of the Queen's bad bargains.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language