be rotten to the core
To be entirely bad, evil, or corrupt. The defense attorney refused to take the case when he realized the criminal was rotten to the core, unrepentantly boasting about his heinous crimes. That company is just rotten to the core—I wouldn't be surprised if all the employees were embezzling money! Kids who hurt animals are rotten to the core in my book.
evil to the core
Completely and utterly bad, evil, or corrupt. The defense attorney refused to take the case when he realized the criminal was evil to the core, unrepentantly boasting about his heinous crimes. That company is just evil to the core—I wouldn't be surprised if all the employees were embezzling money! I always knew that guy was evil to the core. He'd turn against his own mother if it would help his ascent to the top!
hard core
1. noun A very devoted subset of group or organization. They're the hard core of the group, so I'd talk them if you're interested in volunteering. I wouldn't say Todd is part of the hard core—he's pretty unreliable, actually. You girls are the hard core of the choir that have kept it going all these years.
2. noun A style of rock music that is especially loud and aggressive. Usually spelled as one word. I used to listen to hardcore, but I've moved on to other genres. Just because I'm not into hardcore doesn't mean I'm over here listening to folk music! Sometimes, you just need to scream along to hardcore and get all your feelings out that way.
3. adjective Describing someone who is staunch and unyielding in their beliefs. Often hyphenated or spelled as one word. She's a hard-core liberal, so good luck getting her to listen to your conservative views. Wow, Dan's in jail? I had no idea he'd become such a hard-core advocate for the city's homeless population. Soap opera fans are hard-core. Say one negative thing about their fave actor, and they are all up in your mentions!
4. adjective Describing pornography that is especially graphic or explicit. Often hyphenated or spelled as one word. I was appalled to find hard-core porn on his computer. Whoa! I hardly ever watch porn, so I'm definitely not ready for anything hard-core! I thought the film would be some tasteful, artsy musing on love and sex, but, no, it was basically hard-core porn. I walked out!
5. adjective Describing something that is especially intense or impressive. Often hyphenated or spelled as one word. Wow, you're really specializing in surgery? That's hardcore! That girl is hardcore. I mean, she's pregnant, and she just ran a half-marathon! A: "I think I'm gonna do it. Forget the BA, I'm going for the BFA." B: "Wow, Bachelor of Fine Arts—that's hardcore."
6. adjective Describing a style of rock music that is especially loud and aggressive. Usually spelled as one word. I used to play in a hardcore punk band back in college. Just because I'm not into hardcore rock doesn't mean I'm over here listening to folk music! I can't go to those hardcore rock shows with him anymore—they give me a headache.
inner core
The innermost part of something. The term is used both literally and figuratively. What is the Earth's inner core made of? At his inner core, he's a good person, I just know it. He's the kind of guy who likes to take things apart just to see what makes up their inner core.
normcore
A fashion aesthetic consisting of particularly nondescript, unadorned casual clothing items. The model gravitates toward normcore when she's not on the runway, and I saw this tendency firsthand when she arrived for this interview in a plain sweatshirt and relaxed jeans.
outer core
One part of the inside of the Earth (as opposed to the Earth's "inner core"). All right class, what can you tell me about the Earth's outer core?
rock (one) to (one's) core
To affect one very deeply or profoundly, especially in a startling or revelatory fashion. The sudden arrest of my business partner for murder has rocked me to my core, leaving me questioning everything I once knew. The dramatic ending to the film rocked him to his core.
rotten to the core
Thoroughly and totally bad, evil, or corrupt. The defense attorney refused to take the case when he realized the criminal was rotten to the core, unrepentantly boasting about his heinous crimes. That company is just rotten to the core—I wouldn't be surprised if all the employees were embezzling money!
softcore
1. Depicting erotic sexual content or activity without containing explicit or graphic images or descriptions, especially of penetration or genitalia (i.e. "hardcore"). The magazine has been accused of being little more than softcore pornography. It's being described as an art film depicting the true nature of an adult relationship, but it's just softcore porn, if you ask me.
2. Not particularly extreme in one's dedication to something. I still love playing video games, but I'm just a softcore gamer these days. We're all pretty softcore fans of football. We love watching it when it's on, but we don't follow it religiously or anything.
to the core
Fully or completely; in the most essential or inherent way. That company is just rotten to the core—I wouldn't be surprised if all the employees were embezzling money!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.