in the bad books
or, in someone's bad books
Meaning
- out of favour
- to be in disgrace
- in a situation when someone is disliked
- in a state in which one is mistreated
- If you are in someone's bad books, they are angry with you.
Example Sentences
- Maria remains in his bad books after the argument between both.
- My son was in everyone's bad books right from the first day of school.
- Jenny is in the bad books of the team because of her bad behaviour.
- I littered the house with rubbish yesterday. Therefore I'm in Mom's bad books now.
- John does something stupid, and now he's in my bad books.
- Emma never likes to do anything wrong or be in your bad books.
- I don't want to look like a stalker in your eyes or don't want to be in your bad books.
Origin
Even before Middle Ages, books are being used to keep the identity and reckoning of a person. And the phrase "out of someone's books" has been in vogue since then, which means to get out of someone's life.
The phrase " out of someone's books" is pretty ancient and recorded figuratively in 1509, The Parlyament of Deuylles, that reads:
"He is out of our bokes, and we out of his."
The term "bad books" originated a little later, and the earliest printed record can be traced back to 1861 in Perry's History of the Church of England:
"The Arminians, who at that time were in his bad books."
