Hello and welcome back to Daily English Pod, Today’s word is badmouth.
Imagine you worked really hard on a project, but later you find out a coworker told the boss you were lazy and unhelpful. Or maybe your cousin told everyone at a family gathering that your cooking was terrible—when you weren’t even there to defend yourself. Or think about when a friend shares your personal secrets with others in a way that makes you look bad.
To badmouth someone means to say unpleasant, unfair, or critical things about them—especially when they’re not present. It’s almost always negative and usually meant to damage that person’s reputation.
After the breakup, he started badmouthing her to all their friends.
The coach told the team to stop badmouthing each other and focus on the game.
I don’t trust people who smile in your face but badmouth you behind your back.
The expression badmouth comes from the idea of having a “bad” or harmful tongue—using your mouth to hurt someone’s image rather than to speak kindly.
Has anyone ever badmouthed you? How did you feel and how did you react?