core

be rotten to the core

To be entirely bad, evil, or corrupt. The defense attorney refused to take the case when he realized the criminal was rotten to the core, unrepentantly boasting about his heinous crimes. That company is just rotten to the core—I wouldn't be surprised if all the employees were embezzling money!
See also: core, rotten

hard core

1. noun A very devoted subset of group or organization. They're the hard core of the group, so I'd talk them if you're interested in volunteering.
2. noun A style of rock music that is especially loud and aggressive. Usually spelled as one word. I used to listen to hardcore, but I've moved on to other genres.
3. adjective Describing someone who is staunch and unyielding in their beliefs. Often hyphenated or spelled as one word. She's a hard-core liberal, so good luck getting her to listen to your conservative views.
4. adjective Describing pornography that is especially graphic or explicit. Often hyphenated or spelled as one word. I was appalled to find hard-core porn on his computer.
5. adjective Describing something that is especially intense or impressive. Often hyphenated or spelled as one word. Wow, you're really specializing in surgery? That's hardcore!
6. adjective Describing a style of rock music that is especially loud and aggressive. Usually spelled as one word. I used to play in a hardcore punk band back in college.
See also: core, hard

inner core

The innermost part of something. The term is used both literally and figuratively. What is the Earth's inner core made of? At his inner core, he's a good person, I just know it.
See also: core, inner

normcore

A fashion aesthetic consisting of particularly nondescript, unadorned casual clothing items. The model gravitates toward normcore when she's not on the runway, and I saw this tendency firsthand when she arrived for this interview in a plain sweatshirt and relaxed jeans.

outer core

One part of the inside of the Earth (as opposed to the Earth's "inner core"). All right class, what can you tell me about the Earth's outer core?
See also: core, outer

rock (one) to (one's) core

To affect one very deeply or profoundly, especially in a startling or revelatory fashion. The sudden arrest of my business partner for murder has rocked me to my core, leaving me questioning everything I once knew. The dramatic ending to the film rocked him to his core.
See also: core, rock

rotten to the core

Thoroughly and totally bad, evil, or corrupt. The defense attorney refused to take the case when he realized the criminal was rotten to the core, unrepentantly boasting about his heinous crimes. That company is just rotten to the core—I wouldn't be surprised if all the employees were embezzling money!
See also: core, rotten

softcore

1. Depicting erotic sexual content or activity without containing explicit or graphic images or descriptions, especially of penetration or genitalia (i.e. "hardcore"). The magazine has been accused of being little more than softcore pornography. It's being described as an art film depicting the true nature of an adult relationship, but it's just softcore porn, if you ask me.
2. Not particularly extreme in one's dedication to something. I still love playing video games, but I'm just a softcore gamer these days. We're all pretty softcore fans of football. We love watching it when it's on, but we don't follow it religiously or anything.

to the core

Fully or completely; in the most essential or inherent way. That company is just rotten to the core—I wouldn't be surprised if all the employees were embezzling money!
See also: core
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

rotten to the core

Fig. really bad; corrupt. That lousy punk is rotten to the core. The entire administration is rotten to the core.
See also: core, rotten

to the core

all the way through; basically and essentially. (Usually with some negative sense, such as evil, rotten, etc.) Bill said that John is evil to the core. This organization is rotten to the core.
See also: core
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

rotten to the core

Thoroughly bad, as in It seems that this police unit is rotten to the core, involved in numerous extortion schemes . The noun core here denotes the central part or heart of anything or anyone. The idiom was first recorded in 1804.
See also: core, rotten
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

to the core

COMMON You use to the core after an adjective to make a statement stronger, especially a statement describing how someone feels or describing the character of someone or something. Father Godfrey Carney said the community was shocked to the core. The insurance industry is rotten to the core. Loxton, the artist, was English to the core yet she was inspired by France.
See also: core
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

to the ˈcore

very much; in every way: He’s a Welshman to the core. They believe that our society is rotten to the core (= completely bad).
See also: core

(the) ˌhard ˈcore

(British English) the small central group in an organization, or in a particular group of people, who are the most active or who will not change their beliefs or behaviour: It’s only really the hard core that bother(s) to go to meetings regularly. ▶ ˈhard-core adj.
1 having a belief or a way of behaving that will not change: a hard-core political activist
2 relating to pornography (= books, videos, etc. that describe or show naked people and sexual acts) of an extreme kind: hard-core sex magazines
See also: core, hard
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

hard-core

1. mod. sexually explicit; pornographic. You can’t sell that hard-core stuff in a store like this!
2. mod. extreme; entrenched. There are too many hard-core cases of poverty there.
3. mod. very good; stunning; great. I’d like a really hard-core pizza with at least five kinds of cheese.
4. mod. extreme; quintessential. She thinks of herself as a hard-core leftist.

rotten to the core

mod. really bad. (see also rotten apple.) That lousy punk is rotten to the core.
See also: core, rotten

soft core

1. mod. referring to a mild type of pornography. Now even the soft core stuff is getting harder to find at newsstands.
2. n. mild pornography. They keep some soft core under the counter.
See also: core, soft

soft-core

1. mod. [of pornography] less revealing or realistic than real life; not showing genitals. They are showing a lot of soft-core stuff on cable and most of the soap operas.
2. mod. less intense or extreme than hard-core. She had a soft-core approach to portraying suffering.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • be rotten to the core
  • rotten to the core
  • rotten
  • rotten apple spoils the barrel, a
  • to the core
  • evil be to him who evil thinks
  • the evil one
  • see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
  • sepulchre
  • a whited sepulcher
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