Linguist Geoff Nunberg reflects on the changing meaning of the proverb “a few bad apples,” which he says is “the reflexive defense whenever misconduct surfaces in the midst of some organization, from Enron to Abu Ghraib to Haditha to the mortgage meltdown. It’s an ancient bit of counsel, whether it’s said of bad apples or rotten ones, or of bushels, barrels, baskets or bins. Benjamin Franklin had it as “the rotten apple spoils his companion,” which goes back to Shakespeare’s time.”