Is there a difference? Apparently slightly so!
According to Merriam-Webster,
in this context:
A rap is "a negative and often
undeserved reputation or charge —often used with bum or bad"
A rep is slang for "reputation; especially : status
in a group (as a gang)"
So, from these definitions and other things I've read:
- If someone has a "bad rap", it's typically
because that person is getting blamed for or associated with negativity for
something that person may not have done.
- If someone has a "bad rep", others also think
poorly of that person, but likely for something that person did, or for a track
record of sketchy behavior.
One question - was the "populous" above meant to be "populace"?
ReplyDeleteHaha, yep! Thanks for the catch!
DeleteI really needed to know this difference.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for sharing this info :)
Think of "RAP" sheet--a criminal's record. RAP = Record of Arrests and Prosecutions.
ReplyDeleteActually "bad rep" is very rarely used and means the same thing as "bad rap". "Bad rep" is usually taken as a misspelling of "bad rap."
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary, "bad rep" has been used for centuries (see Merriam Webster) & when my son said "bad rap" I assumed he was wrong. It's new usage; the former is a deserved poor reputation, and now I know the latter is one that's undeserved.
DeleteThank you rowemag--finally I find someone who knows the truth about the grammar. A rap is a light hit. A rep is short for reputation, which is what it's all about. Bad 'wrap' is just plain stupidity, like wrongly using the words 'there' and 'they're' and 'their' interchangeably. It makes me think that the user of the wrong word is a non self-thinker, who is just a follower and not a leader.
Delete"Ignorance"* not "stupidity". We shouldn't go around calling people stupid due to their ignorance! ;)
DeleteAh, grammar, how one loves and hates it :-)
ReplyDelete