Plural of badman; tough guys or criminals, especially in Jamaican or urban slang contexts.
From 'bad' + 'men'. In Jamaican Patois and dancehall culture since the 1980s, 'bad' was reclaimed to mean tough, cool, or skilled (influenced by Michael Jackson's 'Bad' era), creating 'badman' as both criminal and cultural figure.
In Jamaican dancehall music, 'badman' flipped the script on being called 'bad'—it became a badge of street credibility and toughness rather than immorality, showing how marginalized communities reclaim insults as identity markers.
Plural of 'badman'; inherits male-default assumption. In Caribbean English/reggae, culturally reclaimed; in standard English, plural form erases women even in mixed groups.
Specify 'badwomen and badmen' if mixed gender; or use 'bad operators' / 'skilled troublemakers' generically.
["bad operators","skilled criminals","badwomen and badmen"]
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