The ‘just a few bad apples’ phrase utterly infuriates me, along with ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ and ‘jack of all trades’.

They’ve all been inverted to mean the opposite of the original, full aphorisms.

…

A few bad apples spoil the bunch.

Ie: A few rotten elements corrupt the entire group.

…

The original usage of the ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ was meant to be an obviously impossible act, like standing on a plank of wood, pulling it upward, and expecting to become airborne.

…

The full ‘jack of all trades’ aphorism is

A jack of all trades

and master of none

is often more useful

than a master of one

Today its often used to mock non highly specialized skill sets, but its original meaning is the exact opposite, that highly specialized people are often useless outside of highly specialized scenarios.

One bad apple spoils the whole barrel.