[very common; from the 1930 Sellar &
Yeatman parody "1066 And All That"] Something that can't
possibly result in improvement of the subject. This term is always
capitalized, as in "Replacing all of the 9600-baud modems with
bicycle couriers would be a Bad Thing". Oppose Good Thing.
British correspondents confirm that Bad Thing and Good Thing
discusses rulers who were Good Kings but Bad Things. This has
apparently created a mainstream idiom on the British side of the
pond. It is very common among American hackers, but not in
mainstream usage here. Compare Bad and Wrong.